The Ironwood Heiress
by Hysterical Clerical Hijinks
Summary: A young woman is torn from Earth & thrust into the world of RWBY. Placed in the body of a child; the lost daughter of General James Ironwood. Her journey as a Huntress began the very day she left our world. Very slow canon plot progression with a deep look at day-to-day school life, new missions & adventures & plenty of character interaction. OC world-traveller. OC replaces Jaune.
1. A chip off the old block

**RWBY AND IT'S CHARACTERS ARE OWNED BY MONTY OUM AND ROOSTER TEETH. MY OC'S ARE MY OWN AND THUS WORTH NOTHING.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One:<strong>

'A chip off the old block'

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><p>I can honestly say that I've never been this surprised. In fact I am so surprised I feel almost nothing. My mind feels like a haze of static and my body distant, like echoes of pins and needles. I think I might be going into shock. And it is for a very good reason.<p>

'Is that the fucking shattered moon from RWBY?' I think, flabbergasted. True to my thoughts shining serenely above me is the shattered moon, ignorant to my plight. 'This is some straight up Alice in Wonderland bullshit.' I think amazed.

How was it that I'd woken up in the RWBY-verse? That should be literally impossible. I'd been jogging in the woods near my house when I felt light headed. Thinking it was merely a case of dehydration I'd sat down to have a drink from my water bottle. Or at least I'd tried to.

Before I knew what was happening I stumbled and tripped. Unfortunately for me I landed in a space between some tree roots. Inexplicably I fell down a hole between the roots. The rest is a blur of colours and not a small bit of pain.

I woke up in a dingy alley. 'Probably for the best.' I mused 'If I had appeared somewhere popular falling out of some inter-dimensional portal I'd kick up a right fuss.'

Dusting myself off I notice just how _small_ my hands are. 'Oh you have got to be joking.' I think. I seem to be wearing pretty standard clothes. Black jeans, a grey t-shirt and some black and white shoes. Deciding that I wouldn't stand out too much I walk out into the open street.

'Woah.' I think dazedly. This was definitely nowhere I'd seen in the show. The buildings were tall, uniform and orderly, but by no means unpleasant. They were aesthetically pleasing in a minimalistic kind of way, all glass and steel. The streets had a few people walking around. 'Must not be very late.' I think. I look around for any distinguishing signs then I sigh as I see none. I walk a little down the street, lit by the luminescent yellow street lamps.

'Well… shit.' I think as I reach a decently reflective shop window. I looked like a RWBYfied eight year old me. The biggest change was my hair. Long, straight black hair reaches below my shoulders in a utilitarian ponytail tied by a grey band. Normal. But what is new is the streaks of timberwolf grey in it, including a large slightly curled bang over the right side of my face. I have defined, but not masculine features. My complexion was lightly tanned. A tiny smattering of light freckles sit on my small nose between my slate grey eyes. Surprisingly full red lips round out my appearance. I blink stupidly at my reflection.

This universe had made me a very pretty girl, all told. Back in the old world my strong features had been unappealing to a lot of people, thinking it not feminine enough. I had never been completely happy with my face and had worked extremely hard to keep physically fit so I could be proud of my appearance. But I had never been a great beauty and never would be... but here…

It was surprising for sure. To be fair I hadn't seen a single unattractive female in the RWBY-verse, so that might have something to do with it. My features made me look harsh and imposing. Well as harsh and imposing as an eight year old girl could be. But I was beautiful… and that felt wonderful. But then a thought punches the wind out of my lungs like a physical blow.

'Appearances aside… what do I do now?' I think miserably, sliding my back down the wall and sitting on the sidewalk. 'This is insanity.' I think despairingly. 'How did I end up in the world of some show? Is it even possible to get back? Somehow I doubt it. I literally fell into some random hole in the woods to get here.' I can feel the tears beginning to burn at the corners of my eyes.

I had a good life in my old world. My parents were wonderful, if busy, people. A couple that were unable to have kids, they had adopted me when I was young. My father worked as a personal trainer and gardener, but he used to fight professionally and my mother was an engineer. I myself had just graduated top of my class in engineering, no small thanks to my mothers tutoring and genius. She'd pushed me hard my entire life when it came to my schooling and pushed even harder when I had decided to take up engineering.

I had good friends as well, some of whom I had grown up with, some who I grew to know as we went through college together. I had gone to a good school and a good college and earned myself a great degree.

I didn't have a partner of any sort but I was unworried. I was fit, young, I had friends and I had a solid future ahead of me… but _now…_

I had nothing. Absolutely nothing at all except for the clothes on my back, my worldly experience and my knowledge. 'Shit.' I think, as my sobs break lose. I can feel my body convulse involuntarily as I weep.

I had just lost everything and everyone I ever knew. And it _hurt_. Whatever gods existed were undeniably cruel to have done something like this to me on a whim. My only comfort was the fact that my friends and family were not dead, as meagre as it was. I still would never see them again. I buried my face in my hand and I wept. I cried and sobbed for the life I would never have again.

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><p>"Hey kid, you ok?" A gruff but concerned voice startles me out of my depressed state. He stands not far away from me, leaning slightly to look at me. A tall man with dark eyes and hair, covered in a large black cloak. He has a collection of small scars on his face, but they don't detract from the genuine concern in his eyes. I give a small, bitter laugh.<p>

"No. No I am… really not." And I wasn't. I might have been an adult in my old world but I surely wasn't here. My body was a flux of childish emotions and impulses, curbed only by my great restraint. It seemed inhabiting the body of a child was more than an aesthetic effect. Apart from my incredible sadness I had definitely noticed I was as much a child as I was an adult at the moment, and it irked me considerably. I felt so small and vulnerable.

"What's wrong?" The man asks softly. I sob a little more.

"Everyone I've ever loved is gone." I tell him, summing up my situation. The man takes in a sharp breath.

"Oh little one…" He says, looking incredibly weary and shaking his head. I dash my tears on the back of my hands.

"Where am I?" I ask, gesturing to the city around me. The man looks slightly surprised at my question.

"Atlas Capital." He says and I nod. I remember that Atlas was one of the nations of Remnant. The man looks at me a little while longer, gaze narrowing slightly, an odd look in his eyes.

"What is your name?" I ask, turning to him, trying to interrupt his scrutiny.

"Qrow." The man says. I can feel my eyes widen at the familiar name. He must notice my reaction because his brow furrows slightly.

"Heard of me?" He asks curiously. I nod slowly in agreement.

"Didn't know I was getting that famous…" Qrow mutters. "What's yours kid?" He asks. I can't help a small, rueful laugh escaping me. 'I always thought it was cool I shared my last name with one of the characters in the show… And I doubt a first name like Victoria would fly here. But I want to keep my middle name… what goes with light? Hm.'

"Stella Hikari Ironwood." I tell him. I can see his eyebrows practically shoot to his hairline, eyes wide with surprise. His gazes zeroes in on me again, more focused than I would have thought possible. Then I see something akin to amusement and glee dance across his features.

"Stella? Lovely name." He says kindly, his features softening as he looks at my face. I realise I must look terrible from my little episode. I scrub my face furiously to get rid of the worst of my emotional breakdown. "So, kid… I have a favour to ask." He says mildly. I give him a dubious look.

"Yes?" I say brusquely. I can see his lips twitch at my blunt question.

"Come to the police station with me?" He asks. I give him a suspicious glance, but it seems like a good suggestion. A local law enforcement establishment would be a place to get started on sorting out my life.

"Sure." I tell him but then I look at him. "But if they drop me off at another orphanage I'll haunt your dreams." I tell him seriously as I stand. He looks as if he is struggling to hold in his laughter and I give him a singularly unimpressed look. He clears his throat and composes his features.

"Another orphanage?" He says placidly. I bite my lip and shake my head, clearing my thoughts of the parents I would never see again.

"Yeah, I was adopted." I mutter falling into step next to him as we make our way down the well lit streets. A small silence passes until he asks another question.

"What were their names?" He asks softly. I breathe out, releasing some of the tension building in my chest again.

"Bolin and Asami Sato." I say quietly. Qrow hums silently in response. I give him an appraising look. "Most people wouldn't question a child who just lost their family." I say. A flash of something passes through his eyes. It looks like… appreciation?

"Most people." He says in agreement. "Most children." He says gesturing toward me. I raise an eyebrow at his vague response but deign to keep my silence again as we walk down the road.

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><p>Eventually we reach a large building. A sign hangs outside, a symbol of a blue shield, the image of the local law enforcement presumably. A hanger sits on the side of the building. As we approach the hanger door opens and a policeman streaks out on the road, sirens blaring on his bike.<p>

I pause and put my hand on my hips, looking the building up and down. I nod in satisfaction and turn to Qrow. "Seems legit." I muse and Qrow shoots me an amused glance but says nothing. We take a few steps up to sliding glass door and walk inside.

The police station is bustling silently, a collection of cops and receptionists flitting around reception, doing their work. The scent of paper, ink and instant coffee fills the room. Qrow pushes me gently toward reception, walking next to me.

My newly reacquired childish instincts are screaming at me. The room is too full of unfamiliar people, movement, sights and sounds. My adult side is doing my level best to remain calm and keep myself centred. I must not succeed completely because as we walk to an empty reception desk Qrow turns to me.

"It'll be fine, kid." Qrow says and I try my best to release some tension from my small form. I nod slightly and sit down with Qrow. The receptionist looks at us and Qrow flashes a badge at her. 'Probably something to do with being a hunter.' I think.

"How can I help you, Sir?" The woman asks politely.

"I'd like to requisition a bunk and some food for the night for Ms. Stella next to me." Qrow says. I look at him curiously. It's certainly helpful he is doing this for me.

"Of course sir." The reception replies unphased. She turns to a small computer like hologram and taps it a few times. Once she has done that she turns behind her and grabs a small card.

"Bunk One three one has been granted to hunter Qrow for the use of one…" She says out loud as she places the card on a scanner and types out her sentence.

"Stella Hikari Ironwood." I say. The woman's calm appearance is cracked when her eyes widen slightly, flicking towards me but she is soon back typing out on the screen. She frowns slightly.

"Age?" The receptionist asks.

"Eight." I reply. Qrow looks at me, eyebrows raised.

"You're pretty tall for an eight year old girl." Qrow says. I shrug; I had been this tall when I was eight in my old world. I had been very tall for a girl, tall in general actually, topping out at 6 foot 1.

"Yes." I say simply, turning back to the receptionist but not before I see Qrow's determined nod, as if confirming something with himself. The receptionist punches in a few more details and the card beeps.

"This card will open the hunters bunk you will be staying in tonight, it will also allow you access to food and drink in the mess hall." The lady says, handing me the card.

"Thank you." I say as both Qrow and I stand. We move away from the line, to a quiet side of the room. He kneels down to my level.

"Will you be alright here?" He questions pointedly. A war between my childish side and adult side ensues, and lucky for me my adult side wins.

"Sure." I say. "Nothing safer than a building full of police and hunters."

"Alright." Qrow says as he stands. "I'll be back in a few hours. I have an… errand to run." He turns to go and I clutch a small bit of fabric of his cloak. He pauses and looks at me. I flush slightly at the embarrassingly childish gesture.

"Thank you. For this, I mean." I say, gesturing with the small plastic card. Qrow grins a little and waves goodbye.

"Later 'Silver' junior." He says with his grin.

'Silver junior? Whatever.' I think as I turn around, ready to go get some food and rest.

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><p><em>With Qrow an a few hours later.<em>

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><p>"Cyborg! We need to talk." Qrow says cheekily as he strolls into a large office. Behind the desk sits an imposing figure. One of the most powerful men in Remnant, in both his position and his stature. He stands slowly, bringing himself to his towering height of six foot nine tall.<p>

Black hair, with grey streaks along the sides and dark grey eyes sit atop his massive frame. His features are strong and chiselled. He wears a white overcoat with gold piping, a grey undercoat, alongside a red tie, and a white glove on his right hand.

He turns one his dark eyebrows upward in question. "Hello Qrow, back so soon?" The mans deep voice reverberates around the room. Qrow gives him a wicked grin in response.

"I found something of yours." Qrow says simply. The man walks over slowly, closing the distance with a few lengthy strides.

"Oh, what could that be?" The man asks politely, looking interested. Qrow gives him a mysterious smile.

"You're definitely going to want to follow me." Qrow says, facial expression turning serious, but not harsh. "_Definitely." _Qrow says as he walks out the door. The large man sighs, shoulders drooping and follows his slightly insane friend.

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><p><em>At the police station, early morning.<em>

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><p>I was sitting in the mess hall, eating some Pumpkin Pete's with a cup of coffee to start off my day. The cereal was pretty tasty, with bits of marshmallow goodness floating in the milk. I could see why Phyrrha would say it wasn't good for you though. I was sort of annoyed as well, I had forgotten my hairband in my bunk and now my hair kept getting in the way. A few of the other patrons in the room were giving me curious glances, obviously wondering what in the world a little girl was doing here. I merely did my best to blend in, confidently going about my business. As I am pouring myself a new cup of coffee I see someone approach me.<p>

Tall, blonde and muscular comes to mind. The man looks very friendly, with a large smile on his face and a jaunty, confident walk. He's wearing a brown leather duster, a yellow shirt, brown slacks and rusty orange combat boots. He waves as he approaches me, a big plate of food in one of his hands. He slides in across from me at the table on the opposite bench.

"Morning kiddo!" The man says with a friendly smile. A quirk my lips slightly to soften my probably stern looking features.

"Good morning, sir." I say softly.

"Looking pretty serious there, eating your breakfast." The man says with amusement obvious in his voice. I sigh, bringing my head down on the table. I bring my head up to look him in his violet eyes.

"Just that kind of face." I say sincerely. 'I can see this becoming a problem.' I think. The man snorts in amusement, taking a large bite of his toast. He points lazily at me with his open hand.

"Whatcha doing here?" He says after his bite of toast is done, turning the pointing figure into a wide circle to indicate our surroundings. I grimace slightly. "Oh ho! A little lawbreaker in the making, are we?" He asks, waggling his eyebrows. I smile at him a little sadly, trying my best not to cry.

"Not quite." I say, coughing slightly to alleviate the pain in my chest. The man notices my discomfort and shift himself.

"Look kiddo…" He says softly. "I don't wanna push, but can you tell me what you're doing here? This place is sort of off limits to everyone cept' hunters and cops."

I shift in my seat, eyes burning. "My family…" I croak but stop as my voice hitches. I breathe deep. "Grimm." I lie. It's a very probably excuse and no ones going to contradict me about it. It's not like I'll ever seem them again anyway. The man's face contorts, looking empathetic. He blows out a long breath and takes a gulp of the juice he brought.

"Ahh kiddo…" He says shaking his head. "Sorry." I give him a watery smile to show I take no offense. Time passes in silence as I sip a new cup of coffee. I can feel the energy burning through me. 'Seems like I didn't retain my tolerance then.' I say, frowning at the cup. I am broken out of my thoughts when the man's voice pipes up.

"It's hard now kid but it get's easier." The man says, smiling sadly. I give him a determined nod. He leans back and gives me a once over. "Names Tai-Yang Xiao Long." The man says. Luckily for me I am looking towards the door when he says the name or he would have seen the shocked look on my face. 'This is the father of Yang and Ruby. What are the chances?' I think. I stand, getting ready to go my room to get my band.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Xiao Long." I say in parting. I stand and walk away but then pause and say something over my shoulder. "My name is Stella Hikari Ironwood." I turn walking away.

Tai-Yang's eyes widen as he does a spit take of his juice all over the table. I walk away; going back to my room in order to get the hairband I forgot this morning. I don't hear a coughing, spluttering sound behind me as Tai-Yang attempts to regain his bearing, stumbling up to follow me.

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><p>I reach my bunk room, getting ready to open the door when I hear two distinct voices. One sounds like Qrow and the other is unfamiliar. I open the door and walk in.<p>

"-ust don't know what I am doing here." The unfamiliar voice says sounding slightly annoyed. Qrow turns to me as he notices the door opening.

"Be patient, James." Qrow says, then looking at me he pretends to act surprised."Ah, morning Stella!" Qrow says brightly. I look at him oddly, turning my gaze between him and the man who has his back turned.

"Mor-" I start but pause as the man turns around. A large, masculine face with black and grey hair along with slate grey eyes. '_Ironwo…? OH SHIT.' "-_ning" I say squeakily. My childish side is panicking. I am getting an insane urge to run up and _hug_ the man. Qrow is watching me avidly. I can feel myself start to panic, hands sweating immensely. I hear a stumbling crashing sound and I turn around and find myself in front of Tai-Yang.

"Hey Ironwood!" He says into the room.

"Yes?" "Yeah?" Two voices reply. There's an abrupt stillness as Tai-Yang takes in the event unfolding before his eyes. He watches as James' head snaps to look at the young girl who had breakfast with this morning. The girl pauses and turns to face James' gaze. Qrow grins deviously.

"Introductions are in order, I think!" Qrow says, evidently enjoying himself. "Stella, meet the ever stoic and recently promoted General James Ironwood." He says and I press my lips into a thin line. My younger side _recognises_ this man; I can feel it. "James I have the pleasure of introducing you to one Ms. Stella Hikari Ironwood." Qrow says with a warm smile. James eyes (_'just like mine'_) bore into mine, seeming searching every part of my features. I can see his hand clasped behind his back fall limply to his side as his arms unfold, his jaw going slack and his eyes wide. My heart is pounding out of my chest as the kid in me goes crazy. There's absolutely no way that this man isn't my Remnant body's dad, the feeling is too strong.

"Just an errand my lily white ass." I mumble, making eye contact with Qrow. Apparently both Tai-Yang and Qrow hear me, because Qrow snorts and laughs lightly. Tai-Yang looks between the Ironwood's taking in our expressions and has to duck out of the room, making his way down the hall to hold in some very inappropriate boisterous laughter. I make eye contact with James' again and look at his features… an almost exact male version of my own.

I can't help it; my child side is too strong and has been repressed too long. Before I know it a word escapes my lips. I clap my hands over my mouth but it's already too late. The word rings out in the silent room, a thunderstorm of noise in a desert of silence.

"Dad…"

James' visibly stumbles, pulling out a chair and falling into it around a small table. Qrow looks between us, James' shocked into silence and me stock still, waiting for a reaction.

"I'll leave you two alone." He says stalking out the room elegantly. James' makes an affirmative sound and I nod. The door slides shut behind me. James' remain seated, eyes unfocused. After a few moments indecision I move toward the table and pull out the chair opposite him. He lifts his gaze to meet mine, and then shakes his head slightly.

"Look…" He says, but then his jaw snaps shut. His eyes roam over my features again. He takes a deep breath and makes eye contact with me once more. "I…" He begins again but is once more unable to string together a sentence as he rubs a hand over his face. He leans back and looks at me. A small smile plays on his face. "There's no denying it…" He says dumbfounded. "You look just like me." He says with a hint of pride. I sit absolutely still, both adult and child completely unable to come up with anything to do in this situation. "Why now? Why here? How did Qrow find you?" He asks. I take a deep breath, in then out.

"Qrow found me last night on the street…" I begin and James' eyes narrow instantly but he doesn't interrupt. "I…" I begin, but again the memory of my friends and family is still too raw and I can feel the tears brim over and a choked sob escapes me. I screw my eyes shut, trying my best to stave off the waves of emotions. I am shocked still and my eyes fly open when I find a large pair of arms wrapping around me. This proves to be the straw that breaks the camels back, my inner child yearning for reassurance and me wanting comfort at the loss of my family. I start to cry in earnest, burying my head in the crook of his neck, hands fisted in his overcoat.

Eventually I calm myself down, recovering from my emotional break. I push back slightly and James' disengages, looking at me worriedly.

"What happened Stella?" He asks. I look up at him and decide to give him some truths, half truths and a white lie.

"I was left at an orphanage by my mother when I was a baby." I say and James' face tightens. One truth. "Some time after that a couple that were unable to have children adopted me." I say, voicing going a bit hoarse. Another truth. "Bolin and Asami Sato. My dad was a gardener because a few years ago he was injured in the field. Mom was an engineer." I say. Also technically a truth, the field just happened to be the ring. "They raised me up until a few days ago…" Half-truth, they haven't really been raising me for the last few years. "They're… gone now." I say, a truth. James' looks at me sorrowfully.

"Gone?" He questions softly. 'Let's hope he doesn't dig too deep into this.'

"Grimm." I lie again. James' sucks in a breath, looking disturbed.

"Grimm in the city?" He asks. I snap up to look at him. 'I can't have him search too thoroughly…'

"No… my fathers semblance…" I begin slowly, trying to buy myself some time. A lie. "I was displaced." I say, which is also true, but not by my father. "He used it to shift me here." I lie. "I went from a forest and woke up in an alley in the city." I say, speaking the truth once more. "Pretty much right after that I collapsed next to a shop, Qrow found me and brought me here." I say, finishing my small tale. A large hand grips my upper arm and I meet James' surprisingly soft eyes.

"Any friends or family?" He questions. I dash the building tears on my hand again, unwilling to break down twice in one sitting.

"Gone." I say hoarsely. James' takes me into another hug. I lean in and relax, trying my best to remain calm. We part and I look at him.

"I am sorry." James says, face drawn tight with repressed anguish. "I never knew…" He says, indicating me. My young self jars and I sigh. I know it is strange, but the man in front of me is my father in this world… but considering I just hopped dimensions, I am not going to question it overly much. And the resemblance is irrefutable.

"You didn't know." I say, shaking my head. "How could you have? If my biological mother never told you then there is nothing to be done." I continue. "But you're here now." I say, leaning forward and wrapping my arms his neck.

"Yes." He replies softly. "I am here now." Bringing me back into another hug. My childish self feels content and my older self feels better, not lost between the waves of hopeless sorrow.

Just like that, the world of Remnant didn't seem so lonely anymore.


	2. The tales of RWBY begin

**RWBY IS OWNED BY MONTY OUM AND ROOSTER TEETH. MY OC'S ARE ALL MINE. WOO.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

The tales of RWBY begin

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><p>The bullhead shakes roughly as we pass over some turbulence. I barely notice, completely and utterly excited to finally go to Beacon. I try to sit still though, the seats on the benches are rather small and I don't want to make the trip uncomfortable for myself. I try to take a breath to calm myself.<p>

It isn't working.

In the nine years since my arrival in Remnant I've realised a few very important things.

One; the people of Remnant are _tiny_. The average height for a female is 5 foot 6 and the average height for a male five foot nine. Now this might not sound all that different but the tallest person I've met who isn't my dad was six foot two. And that was _one_ person. My dad is six foot nine, literally the biggest person on the planet as far as I know. I myself have gotten _bigger_ than my previous life, towering over my puny counterparts at six foot four. Very, very few people are taller or shorter than average height. It seems differentiation here is much smaller.

Two; the people of Remnant can be a bit crazy. It might be because this is something of a fantasy world, or it could be the constant threat of death by monster but being unhinged is much more acceptable than in the old world.

Three; for some dust forsaken reason these people don't wear armour. I literally cannot understand it. I understand that those who pursue a life in the art of combat generally unlock their aura, and thus aura shielding, but wearing armour is nothing but a plus. If you make it light and flexible enough you'll barely notice it and it could save you when your aura fails but nope! No armour, they all wear customised outfits for the most part. And the few that _do_ wear armour wear awful quality gear as part of a uniform or for purely aesthetic reasons. Stark raving lunatics, the lot of them.

Four; practicality versus style is a big problem. The need for weapons to be both intricately designed as well as powerful is very odd. A lot of the time they sacrifice utility for _looks_. This is the same problem as the armour. I feel something should be designed pragmatically; combat effectiveness first, aesthetics second. Alas, I am part of a very small minority. That isn't to say the weaponry isn't basically techno-magic and ridiculously powerful, but why not squeeze every last drop from your weapon?

Five; this definitely the most important and easiest to miss at first. The people of Remnant are _people_. Now when I first arrived I was stuck in odd space. When I recognised someone I would think 'Oh I know that character.' Wrong! So very, very wrong. They aren't characters, they are each a real person with real dreams and aspirations. I had to stop dismissing them as these strange caricatures drawn by people on another world. They each had hidden depths and their own life stories. Individually the people of this world had even more personality and history than on my old world! I couldn't judge a book by it's cover (for the most part) and I couldn't judge a person in this world based on their representation in the show I watched all those years ago.

That isn't to say it didn't make it very hard for me _not_ to go over to Ruby and Yang.

Oh _dust_ how much I wanted to talk to those two.

I had a great many friends over the years, but I'd never forgotten just who this world was named after. I knew these girls would be in the thick of it, in the middle of the great moments in our time and I'll be damned if I don't do my best to contribute.

And hearing Yang give her sister the speech about her being the bee's knees brought up an intensely wistful feeling.

It's almost hard to believe RWBY's story is about to begin after all these years...

"Oh, Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!" Ruby yells in the background. I turn around in time to see Yang's face morph of one of horror and disgust. She shakes her boot out in front of her in an effort to get it off. Ruby balks and backs off, arms covering her face.

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang repeats, shaking her foot more violently and inadvertently moving closer to Ruby.

"Get-Get away! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby yelps, having backed into a corner, unable to escape from Yang's closing puke shoe.

I sit and laugh a little at their antics. After waiting for so long, this is almost a therapeutic.

* * *

><p>Sooner rather than later we approach Beacon. I stand up out of my seat, groaning and popping my back. The short green haired bull faunus next to stretches his neck up and looks at me with wide eyes. I give him a cheeky wink and a wave, then walk over to the window to have a good look at Beacon. Firstly though I take in me in my combat gear.<p>

My hair hasn't changed much, the timberwolf grey streaks still running down to my fringe and into a long grey bang that curls slightly and ends just above my lip on the right side. My eyes haven't changed either, remaining a slate grey. My face has thinned and lost all puppy fat, becoming sharp and strong. My eyebrows are black and slightly hooked, giving my eyes a predatory cast. My red lips sit naturally in a long, intense and serious line.

An armoured white and blue-grey corset with gold piping sits on my chest. The armour itself is light plain white plate. Over this sits a mix between a toga and trench coat, also white with gold trim. It wraps around my shoulder connected via a gold medallion to the right side of my chest and down my right in a sleeve, covering half my chest piece at a diagonal angle. It falls off the left side of my body open but dress-like at the hip. A thick, black belt with gold buckle sits around my waist. I wear a light small dark blue spaulder on my left shoulder. On my arms sit two part vambraces, white with dark blue and grey highlights. Underneath that is a pair of fingerless black gloves that go up to my elbow. Tight but stretchy dark blue grey pants sit underneath charcoal grey greaves and knee armour with gold piping. This armour also sits on top of light grey combat boots. Peaking over my unarmored shoulder is the butt of my gun. On my left hip a fairly white and grey metal pistol sits. On my left a largish black and gold box.

Taking my eyes off myself. 'Always difficult.' I think smugly as I turn to look at Beacon.

'Now _that_ is pretty. And practical! Where did the common sense go in the intervening years I wonder?' I think as I look out the window at Beacon, the jewel of Vale. A fortress turned into school for deadly warriors. It's perfect. The awe inspiring architecture is wonderful and effective, thick walls, towers and parapets. Easily defensible, and with the prospective hopefuls of the worlds greatest warriors manning it's walls it is a truly formidable structure.

"She's _huge_." A childish voice whispers.

I am torn. Either Ruby meant the school...

I turn around and notice her looking up at me wide eyed. 'Oum damn it.' I think viciously.

However I simply raise one eyebrow calmly in question and Ruby _flinches_. Yang hears her sisters little faux pas and turns to me with a beaming grin only to visibly pause and pale right in front of me.

"Woah..." Yang says, looking at me from head to toe.

"Seriously?" I sigh a little. 'Why does everyone do that, it's getting old.' Both Yang and Ruby start at my question, looking a tad frightened. Or in Yang's case, pre-emptively aggressive. "Why do you both look like you think I am about to bite your heads off?" I ask, already knowing the answer deep down.

Yang looks a little confused. "Uh... that's cause you looked like you _were_ about to bite our heads off."

'_Oum damn it!'_ I think, sweat dropping and pouting at the two sisters. 'I thought they might different than the rest.'

"I just have that kind of face..." I mumble for what feels like and could well be the thousandth time. Yang tilts her head and cracks a grin at me whilst Ruby blinks a few times and then giggles. I pout even harder at them. "Everyone thinks I am evil when they first meet me, I swear." I say despairingly causing Ruby to giggle harder and Yang's grin to turn into a smile.

"Well you look pretty evil. As in; pretty, but evil." Ruby says giddily. A stormcloud appears over my head, raining and thundering dramatically.

"I know! SO unfair!" I wail melodramatically. "I try to look really nice and everything, but everyone's always scared of me." I explain.

"Looking less evil by the minute." Yang says with a grin. I perk up slightly, giving her a smile.

"Really?" I ask happily. Yang and Ruby nod enthusiastically.

"Definitely. Must be a first impression kind of thing." Yang says.

"_Awesome!_ Take that, Neptune!" I say shaking my fist in the direction of Atlas. I turn back to the sisters who both look a little bemused. I giggle a little nervously. "Ah hi, I'm Stella." I say, extending my hand toward Ruby. Ruby giggles and Yang laughs a genuine laugh when I shake Ruby's tiny hand, my fingers wrapping well around her hand and wrist.

"I'm Ruby! Nice to meet you." She says.

"I'm Yang." Yang extends her hand next, shaking her head ruefully when even with her larger hand mine still nearly engulfs hers. "What did your parents _feed_ you?" Yang asks at loud, looking at me up and down again. I chuckle a little.

"A lot." I answer truthfully. Between Dad and I... well we were lucky he made such good money. Even with Beacon's fairly high cost, I think I might _cost_ them more money because of food than I pay to attend. Dad had laughed long and hard when I had told him as much, begging me to call him as soon as Ozpin figured it out.

"We have arrived at Beacon, would all students please leave the plane. Thank you." Glynda Goodwitch's voice calls over the messaging system. I nod to Ruby and Yang, stepping over to the ramp. I move to the side as an ill looking Jaune Arc stumbles out, dashing over to a bin and hugging it like a lifeline, then promptly emptying his stomach. Again. I shake my head at his little display and get off the plane, breathing deep and looking around me.

The Beacon courtyard stretches out in front of me, all beige stone and arches, with a large fountain in the centre. Hunter prospectives mill around me and I easily see over all of them. A few even gawk at me instead of Beacon, until I give them a chilly glare for their rudeness, causing more than a few heads to snap round the opposite direction. A small bump behind me causes me to sway a little. With a glance I see the culprit is one Jaune Arc, moaning into his hands.

"Alright there, champ?" I ask him, slightly amused by his dramatic reaction to flying.

"Peachy." He replies with faux happiness. "Kill me?" He moans piteously.

"Maybe later." I reply with a laugh in my voice. He shoots me a thankful thumbs up, causing me to laugh. Straightening out he stretches his hand in my direction and opens his eyes.

"Hell-" He starts looking at my chest, but then swings his eyes upwards. "-llooo" He says slowly. I grab his hand and give it a shake, pulling him out of his surprise. He shakes his head a little but looks me in the eye with a dorky smile. "Name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!" He says with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Stella Hikari Ironwood. Not short or sweet but I have found that ladies love my tongue." I say slyly. Jaune's face goes red and he chokes a little. I laugh at his embarrassed features. "Calm down buddy, you'll cough up a lung if you keep that up." I say as I slap him on the back lightly, causing him to stumble at the unexpected move. I decide to throw him a bone. "An Arc huh? Any relation to Jean Arc?" I ask. He looks surprised but nods.

"Yeah, that's my dad." He says.

"Cool guy. Little crazy though." I say lifting my hand in a so-so gesture. Jaune snorts.

"Sounds about right. How do you know him?" He asks curiously.

"Name's Ironwood. As in James Ironwood. As in your dad is my father's quarter master." I say at length. Jaune's eyes go wide but he furrows his brow a little.

"Why aren't you attending your dad's school?" He questions. I open my mouth to reply when a spectacular explosion happens near us. A plume of fire, lightning and ice rises about twenty metres to our left. I look over to catch Weiss chewing Ruby out, and Blake picking up a dust vial.

"Should we help her...?" Jaune questions, looking at Ruby. I purse my lips.

"Do you really want to get in the middle of..." Weiss continues shouting as Blake struts over. "That?" I indicate Weiss. Jaune shakes his head.

"You're probably right." He says. We watch as Blake has a small conversation with Weiss with culminates in her storming off in a rage.

"Now we help." I say. Jaune nods and jogs over as Blake blends into the crowd, slipping away. I see Jaune introduce himself and help Ruby up.

Welcome to Beacon indeed.

* * *

><p>Ruby, Jaune and I walk into Beacon, a fairly scene route. There's a lot of arching architecture, plenty of trees and a happily gurgling river winding next to the road we are walking. The sky is darkening slowly as night descends.<p>

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" Jaune whines.

Ruby laughs lightly at him. "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind." She explains.

"Ouch. Hope that doesn't stick." I say to them both. Ruby nod and Jaune looks scandalised, then swings his head to Ruby.

"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?" He says hotly.

Ruby puffs her cheeks. "Hey, that explosion was an accident!" She replies. I laugh at them both, diffusing the small situation. Jaune turns to Ruby.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!" He says and I cough into my fist to hide my laughter.

"Do they?" Ruby asks sceptically, hopping over a small rock in the road.

"They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind." Jaune rambles, then kicks the stone Ruby hopped into the River.

"So... I got this thing!" Ruby says after a small, awkward silence. In a dramatic movement she unsheathes Crescent Rose and impales it into the ground. I whistle lowly. 'That thing is _way_ more impressive up close.' I muse.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asks wide eyed.

"It's also a customisable high-impact sniper rifle!" Ruby chirps proudly.

"A-wha...?" Jaune asks a little lost.

Ruby cocks her gun and I reply for her. "It's also a gun." I say.

"Oh. That's cool!" Jaune replies sincerely.

"So what've you guys got?" Ruby asks as she swings Crescent Rose back into it's sheathed form and puts it on the small of her back.

"Oh! I, uh..." He unsheathes a sword. "I got this sword!"

"Ooooohh!" Ruby coos.

"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" Jaune says, grabbing the scabbard and turning it into a shield which he then hefts.

"So, what do they do?" Ruby asks curiously, idly tracing the insignia on the shield.

"The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just... put it away..." Jaune replies awkwardly as he does his best to put away his shield, fumbling slightly.

"But... wouldn't it weigh the same?" Ruby questions.

"Yeah, it does..." Jaune says dejectedly, shoulders drooping.

"Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it." Ruby giggles, caressing her weapon.

"Wait - you _made_ that?!" He gestures wildly at her scythe.

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?" Ruby asks.

"I sure did." I say as I grab my main weapon. A very large, slightly rectangular gun with a gold cocking bolt on the side, as well as a shotgun pump underneath. The weapon is white with small bits of gold detailing. It has an open grip on the top often used by heavy machine gunners.

"That's a _big_ gun." Ruby breathes, looking giddy.

"This is Duress's Embrace, an adaptive projectile armament." I say fondly, patting my weapon. I had was extremely pleased with my weapon.

"Adaptive projectile armament? Haven't heard that one." Ruby asks curiously looking as if she wanted to hold my weapon. I smile indulgently and hand it over. Her eyes bug out lightly as she struggles with the size and weight of the weapon, it being a fair bit larger than even her own monstrosity in gun form.

"It's new, considering I made it. It's mecha-shift but it doesn't change form too dramatically, but I optimised it for utility." I explain as Ruby looks it up and down, taking it in. "It doesn't have a melee form but it'll fire anything except rockets and specialised ammunition." I say and Ruby's eyes widen. "From pistol bullets to sniper rounds to grenades. If it goes in a gun I can shoot it. I can even use pure dust." I say, reaching and grabbing my weapon back from Ruby. "I figured what's the point of a sheathed form if I can use that extra designing for more use?"

"Oooohhh that's _awesome!"_ Ruby cheers. Jaune looks quieter, but a quiet respect sits in his eyes.

"Practical." He says simply but I can see he means it as high praise. Ruby points at my side arms.

"What are those?" She indicates. I wink exageratedly at her.

"Secret." I say simply. She pouts but then faces Jaune looking at him curiously.

"Where'd your weapons come from if you didn't make them?" Ruby asks.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war." He says.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Ruby laughs. "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

"Yeah, the classics..." Jaune mutters.

"Well your weapons are sort of legendary Jaune." I say simply. Ruby looks curious and Jaune nods. "That sword hasn't needed to be repaired since it's forging over a hundred years ago. Strong stuff." I say. Jaune looks embarrassed but Ruby lets out an impressed whistle, but keeps moving on. After a while she brings up another conversation.

"So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?" Ruby asks.

"Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'." Jaune replies nonchalantly.

"Hmm." She hums. "Hey, where are we going?" She asks looking around.

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you." Jaune says pointing at Ruby. "Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark? Is, uh... Is that a 'no'?" Jaune says.

Ruby laughs. "That's a 'no'." I shake my head at both of them and point to the only building with a lot of windows lit, the main keep.

"Ooohh." Two voices echo. Soon we are making our way over to the main hall, ready for reception.

* * *

><p>I walk into the auditorium with Ruby, but Jaune is left slightly behind and is lost in the press of bodies.<p>

**"**Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Yang yells, waving us over.

**"**Oh! Let's go Stella!" She says, dragging me over.

Yang stands with her arms crossed as we arrived. "How's your first day going, little sister?"

**"**You mean since you _ditched_ me and I _exploded_?" Ruby accuses.

**"**Yikes! Meltdown already?" Yang asks with a grimace.

**"**No, I _literally_ exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?" Ruby trails off.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asks coyly. I slap a hand to my face, because obviously sarcasm is lost on her.

"I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I _exploded_, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, _really_ bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!" Ruby rambles.

_"YOU!_" Weiss's voice echoes.

Ruby promptly jumps into Yangs arms, Scooby-Doo style. "Oh, God, it's happening again!" She despairs.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss says accusingly.

"Oh, my God, you really exploded..." Yang says incredulously.

"It was an accident." Ruby says as she climbs down from Yang's arms. "It was an accident!" Ruby says to Weiss. Weiss pushes a pamphlet at her. '_DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals'. "_What's this?" Ruby asks.

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory,theSchneeFamilyhighlyencouragescustomerstoreadandfamiliarizethemselveswiththiseasytofollowguidetoDustapplicationsand practicesinthefield." Weiss recites, going faster and higher pitched as she goes along.

Ruby looks lost. "Uuhhh...?"

"You really wanna start making things up to me?" Weiss questions.

"Absolutely?" Ruby replies, sounding a little intimidated.

Weiss slaps the pamphlet into Ruby's hand. "Read this, and don't ever speak to me again." She says simply.

Yang decides to see if she can help the situation. "Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah! Great idea, sis! Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!" Ruby asks innocently. 'Poor little pup, you don't stand a chance.' I think.

Weiss claps her hands in front of her, clasping them together. "Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and _scraggly_ over there!" She indicates Jaune in the background, who picks up the mention and notices our position. I wave at him cheerfully. I honestly don't know how the boy lost us, I am head and shoulders above the entire crowd._  
><em>

"Wow, really?!" Ruby asks happily.

"No." Weiss says deadpan.

A loud tapping is heard and the auditorium goes silent as Ozpin takes the mic on stage.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." He says.

'Wow this is a lot harsher in real life.' I think, taking in his words.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." He continues. Weak clapping echoes through the halls.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." Glynda says quickly as Ozpin walks out of the room.

"He seemed kind of... off." Yang says, nose scrunched up slightly.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there." Ruby says distractedly.

"I'm a natural blond, you know!" Jaune says as he slides into the conversation, hitting on Weiss. I cover a laugh in my fist and Weiss gives me a gimlet eye as she palms her face in exasperation.

* * *

><p>Everyone shuffles off into the hall, getting changed into PJ's and readying themselves for the night. I find myself in a sleeping bag next to Yang and Ruby with Yang in the middle.<p>

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang cheers.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though." Ruby utters, sounding distracted.

"I know _I _do!" Yang purrs, watching a bunch of shirtless jocks swagger around. I scoff at her and she raises an eyebrow at me. I point out Pyrrha, who is bent over and arranging her things in a red sports bra and shorts. Yang gives me a grin. "Oh _n__iiiice." _She says, lifting a hand for a fist bump. We both perv on Pyrrha unashamedly until Yang notices Ruby writing. What's that?

"Oh, just a letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going." Ruby says slightly muffled as she is chewing on her pen.

"Aw, that's so _cuuuute!" _Yang coos until she is knocked back as a pillow is launched at her face by Ruby.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" Ruby replies hotly.

"Oh cruel mistress, thy words wound my fragile heart." I say dramatically, clutching at my chest. Ruby hits me with a pillow in the face, knocking me over.

"Yeah! And what about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!" She says. I scratch my head awkwardly.

"Uh... yeah he's nice but um, I don't think he's going to pass initiation. He's a bit too clumsy to be a good enough warrior." I say, starting my plan. Shortly after I realised this was real life I made it my goal to make sure Jaune did not attend Beacon for a while. Sure he might have been okay in the show, but with me here who knows what could happen? It's crazy dangerous at a school for warriors and cheating your way in is a easy way to get hurt, which I really didn't want for him.

"Exactly, so with Jaune out and I have Stella I am pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..." Ruby says disconsolately.

"There's no such things as negative friends! You just made one friend and one enemy!" Yang says cheerily and is by yet another pillow, this time looking like a dog to the face. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!" Yang comforts and Ruby nods.

We notice a candle being lighted nearby, and Blake Belladonna is seen leaning against a wall, reading her book.

'Wow, that timing...' I think, shaking my head.

"That girl..." Ruby trails off.

"You know her?" Yang asks.

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything." Ruby replies.

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang says vivaciously. She grabs hold of both Ruby and I.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby panics as she dragged to stand up. I give Yang a deadpan look as all she can manage to do is lift me into a sitting position, being much larger than Ruby. She looks at me sternly. I roll my eyes but comply, standing up languidly. Yang gives me a grin as she drags us both over.

Blake looks over her book at us to see Ruby unsuccessfully struggling against Yang's grip as she leads her sister over to Blake's spot before letting go.

"Hel-looooo! I believe you two may know each other?" Yang sings.

"Aren't you... that girl that exploded?" Blake says slowly.

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater..." She starts but then stops and smiles, embarrassed. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby."

"Okay." Blake says, turning back to her book.

"What are you doing?" Yang whispers to us.

"Moral support." I say dryly, twirling my index finger in a lazy, unenthused circle.

"I don't know - _help me!" _Ruby says looking between us.

"So... What's your name?" Yang questions, breaking from the impromptu huddle.

"Blake." She says sighing after her concentration is broken once again

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister!" Yang says.

I give Blake a little wave. "Stella." I say simply. Blake looks me up and down but doesn't seem surprised. 'Must have seen me earlier.' I think. 'Everyone probably saw me earlier, actually.' I realise with a sweat drop. Being so tall isn't exactly good for blending in.

I like your bow!" Yang compliments suddenly.

"Thanks!" Blake says irritably, her patience getting visibly worn.

"It goes great with your... pajamas!" Yang fishes. I slap my hand lightly against my forehead.

"Right..." Blake drawls, going back to her book.

"Nice night, don't you think?"

"Yes - it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!" Blake hints. I sigh as Ruby and Yang stand there unmoving. "That I will continue to read." Blake says, subtlety taking a nose dive. The girls remain unmoving. "As soon as you leave!" Blake says bluntly.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang says quietly to us.

"What's it about?" Ruby asks Blake, having ignored Yang.

"Huh?" Blake asks surprised.

"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby rolls on.

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body." Blake explains, trying to figure out Ruby.

"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang says sarcastically and I slap her arm lightly.

"Shush you." I say, pointing to Ruby and Blake. "Progress."

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!" Ruby says wistfully, but happy.

"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asks with a light laugh.

"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!" Ruby says.

Blake looks a little impressed. "That's... very ambitious for a child." Her smile turns into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Blake continues cynically.

"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better." Ruby insists.

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang says as she hoists Ruby into a bear hug.

"Cut it out!" Ruby yelps, elbowing and kicking her sister to get her off. The fighting soon devolves into a small tangle of limbs and dust.

Blake laughs slightly. "Well, Stella, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-" She starts but is interrupted by Weiss.

"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" Weiss screeches.

"Oh, not you again!" Weiss and Yang echo at the sight of each other.

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby whispers loudly.

"Oh, _now_ you're on my side!" Weiss says to Ruby.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby moans.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang says angrily.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss denounces. I sigh loudly, the argument is getting to me a little. I stride forward and hook an arm underneath both Ruby and Yang's own, hoisting them up and dragging them away.

"Good night, Blake." I call over my shoulder. I can her soft laughter and the light behind us goes out as Blake blows her candles. I hear Weiss harrumph and walk off, going back to bed.

"You guys can talk tomorrow." I tell the two girls as I drag them back to the sleeping bags. "It'll be a long day." I say truthfully.

I can feel a shiver of excitement and fear make it's way up my spine as I think about initiation. A forest full of Beowolves, Ursai, a Deathstalker and a Nevermore.

Definitely going to be a long day.

* * *

><p><strong>REVIEW~FAVOURITE~FOLLOW!<strong>

**THANKS!**


	3. Ozpin is a sizist

**OUR BELOVED SAVIOUR, MONTY OUM AND HIS MOST FAITHFUL HOST; THOSE BLESSED BY HIS OWN DIVINE LIGHT - THE CREW AT ROOSTERTEETH OWN RWBY. MY OC'S ARE MINE, PROBABLY.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 <strong>

Ozpin is a sizist

* * *

><p>"High-Explosive rounds? Check. Cryo ammo? Check. Belt-feed and ammo pack? Check! Let's do this!" I yell into the locker room, causing more than a few heads to turn to me. I greet them all with a slightly manic grin. I heft Duress' Embrace and sheathe it over my shoulder.<p>

I've left my side arms in my locker, seeing as their pretty incomplete and I've got no real idea how to use them. Instead I've put decided to stick with my tried and true combo. Duress' Embrace and 'the pack'. The pack is consists of a heavier chest piece than my normal getup, it being a fairly large white ceramic mesh plate. It also extends to my back, into the pack itself, a slightly bulky rectangle protecting my back, but more importantly, carrying ammo.

This is my loadout for heavy combat situations, which I would definitely count initiation as. I can see the various other prospects finish gearing up and I start the first part of my plan. I turn on my semblance to observe the room.

Immediately my vision changes. It's comparative to a type of synaesthesia. Everything that isn't producing an aura blurs drastically, losing colour and focus. If it weren't for the high ambient aura I wouldn't be able to see them at all. But the hunter prospects… them I _can_ see. The hunter initiates all flare in various ways, some brighter than others due to the strength of their aura. It is definitely a unique picture of their world, everyone being composed of oddly ethereal versions of themselves, ghostly representations of their physical forms.

I scan the room, identifying and categorizing various important people. First I notice Yang and Ruby. Ruby's aura body is solid red with pulsing veins of quicksilver, especially around her eyes. Yang is a bright spot of storming yellows, flickering red in the periphery, almost indistinguishable. She looks strangely magical, like an elemental fire spirit brought to life. But right now the flaming form is mellow, controlled. I could only assume this is indicative of her fairly calm state. Next is Ren and Nora.

Nora, predictably is a chaotic explosion of pink. Her aura is strong, but that isn't what makes her stand out. Her aura body shifts dramatically in tone constantly, a flux of different shades as she bolts about the room. Ren, meanwhile is a sea of calm. His aura body barely shifts, contained and controlled, indicative of a high level of skill at aura manipulation. Green with hints of magenta shimmering at the edges of his contained aura. His aura body is strong and solidified, showing his tight leash on his power. The only other in the room with a similar level of control is…

Weiss. Her aura is controlled but sharp, extremely defined, like shards of broken glass. Appropriately her aura is white with hints of light blue. Her form is slightly unnerving, actually, looking like some sort of construct made of splinters of reflective light. Next to her stands a big part my plan, Pyrrah. A strange mix of red and bronze wound tight like threaded wire wraps around her otherworldly form. I make a note of it, burning the image into my mind. Then I turn my semblance off. I sigh a little in relief.

My eyes are sensitive, prickling slightly and I have a minor headache from the influx of strange information to my brain. I've not yet mastered my semblance; in fact I am not even close. Luckily as it isn't nearly as bad as when it started and I would get blinding headaches from a few seconds of using it.

Shaking my head in a vain attempt to clear it, I make my way out of the room and to the cliffs.

Time to get this party started.

* * *

><p>I approach the cliffs, looking around to see a few other initiates standing on large square launch pads. I stride forward and place myself second last, right next o Glynda holding her tablet and Ozpin, coffee mug in hand. I give them both a brief salute before looking forward again. Glynda blinks at me before something akin to recognition comes into her eyes. Ozpin merely waves lazily at me.<p>

"Stella?" Glynda questions behind me. I look over my shoulder before locking with her gaze, tilting my head down.

"Hello, ma'am." I say politely, but with a smile. I'd always had a soft spot for Glynda, her grudge against my father aside.

"You've gotten _taller_?" She asked incredulously. Her voice even has a hint of disapproval. I give her a singularly unimpressed look.

"Apparently." I say dryly. Glynda looks slightly put out by my obvious shift in tone, but must recognise her position because she nods imperiously and turns away. I roll my eyes at her. I haven't seen her for a few years and _that_ is how she says hello? I might be wrong to have a soft spot for the crazy witch.

Slowly the other hopefuls arrive. I stand still, looking over the horizon. The Emerald forest looks deceptively calm, no indications of the monsters lurking within. Nature is oddly deceptive like that sometimes, great beauty coupled with great danger. 'A pretty apt description when it comes to most of the female hunters I've met, actually.' I muse. I am broken out of my poor attempt at philosophy by Ozpin starting a small speech.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He says to the collected group. I notice Jaune has taken the last spot, next to me.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams". Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Ozpin says. Ruby's '_What_?' makes me giggle a little, getting me a shocked look from Jaune. I shrug at him.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin says seriously. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." The cheeky bastard says.

'I bet his filmed the shocked reactions of everyone here for laughs.' I briefly consider giving him the finger, but decide against it.

"_Whaaaat_?!" Ruby yells distraught, accompanied with inexplicable shattering sound.

Remnant is weird, sometimes...

"See? I told you-!~" Nora's voice sing songs in the background.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die." Ozpin says.

'Sounds legit.' I think. The Emerald forest is after all known to Grimm infested.

Jaune laughs nervously and then gulps loudly. I shoot him a worried look. I really hoped my plan works, otherwise I am pretty sure Jaune's going to bite the dust. Poor guy just isn't ready for this yet.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin asks.

"Yeah, um, sir?" Jaune raises his hand.

"Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin ignores him, indicating that any chance of him question taking was purely rhetorical. I take a slightly cramped launching stance.

"Stupid friggen sizist launch pads." I grumble. Ozpin gives me an amused glance for my griping. I give him a look indicating I place the blame on his shoulders.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Jaune tries again, completely missing the other students being launched. "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?" He asks nervously.

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin says slowly.

"Oh, uh, I see... So, did you, like, hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune squeaks.

"No. You will be using your own 'landing strategy'." Ozpin explains.

'Man, this guy must be a sadist. There's no way he doesn't know Jaune cheated his way in, he looks about ready to wet himself.' I notice Pyrrha get launched, immediately snapping on my semblance and following her flight path. I crack my neck in preparation; only Yang, then Ruby, then me.

At her turn, Yang winks at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joins her. I tense my body in preparation as the mechanism beneath me launches me into the air. With my semblance still active I can see Pyrrha's distinct form in the dark, shapeless landscape. I turn it off briefly and notice something of a problem.

'Well isn't that flattering.' I think sarcastically. It seems my height, weapon, pack and armour made me significantly heavier than most others. My launch hasn't taken nearly as far because the power behind it wasn't good enough to give me proper lift. I take out my gun and turn in mid air, straightening myself to be aerodynamic as I can. I shift it into shotgun form, the barrel widening and gun shortening slightly, taking on a less rifle like and more traditional shotgun style. I fire some aura bursts, a low impact shots that uses no dust but pure aura in low ammo situations. The bursts however, still give a kick, enough to speed me up and lengthen my launch.

I turn around, noticing I still have some time before I reach tree height. With my semblance I pinpoint Pyrrha's location not far from me. I can hear Jaune's echoing scream as he passes me, flying overhead. I hear the crashing and splintering of tree trunks that I recognise as Pyrrha's descent. I turn off my semblance and initiate my landing strategy.

I had worked out early that my weapon was completely unsuited to use in any form for landing strategies so I'd come with a reasonable alternative. Magnetically attached to my pack was a length of steel-cord attached to a mechanised grapple. I see a flash of red that I recognise as the Spartans hair in a tree in front and to the right of me. I stow my weapon and grab the grapple, throwing it to attach to a limb of a tree. The grapple clamps firmly on to the wood. With a great heave and a grunt, I turn all my momentum up and to the right, swinging in a great arcing line. Soon enough I reach Pyrrha's level, with her not twenty metres to my right. I also notice her current state of being unarmed, having just witnessed her save Jaune. Unfortunately, the ape-like Grimm stalking up behind her notices this as well.

I allow the grapple to release, sending me flying toward Pyrrha and the beast feet first.

"Down!" I yell and she immediately complies, falling into a push up position. I fly over her toward the Grimm. It raises a large claw to swipe me out of the air. Seeing the danger I turn over in mid air, facing down toward the forest floor. I take the grapple and throw it onto the branch to slow my movement as my body completes its turn, facing the sky once more. With my other hand I take unsheathe my gun. I land on the branch in a rough slide on my back, one hand behind me holding the cord allowing it to feed but holding tight enough that I am slowing down. As I slide beneath the ape thing, knocking the grim into the air I point my gun at its chest. The standard red dust shotgun shell I use blasts open the Grimm's chest cavity and sends it careening down to the forest floor. I grunt as I slide into the tree, pushing against my slowed but still considerable speed.

I sigh as I stand, whipping my grapple back into my hand and popping my back with a stretch. I look over to my left and notice Pyrrha has recovered, facing me with shield drawn. I look down and meet her intense green eyes.

"Hello partner." I say amiably, with what I dearly hope to be friendly smile. Pyrrha seems to pick up on my intentions, because she drops her guard and walks forward, arm extended with a smile.

"You work fast." She compliments with a bit of humour in my voice. I chuckle and give her a shrug, grasping her hand in mine.

"Stella Hikari Ironwood, mid to long ranged specialist." I say succinctly. Pyrrha seems pleased by my professional but friendly attitude.

"Pyrrha Nickos, close range combatant." Pyrrha says, disengaging the handshake.

I give her an amused look. "With the way you threw that spear you might be selling yourself short." Pyrrha blushes slightly. "Let's go fetch Jaune before he hurts himself." I say, dropping to a branch below me. After a few hops and a roll I've landed on the forest floor, kneeling with Duress' Embrace in rifle form, scanning the area. I use another aspect of my semblance as I check the surroundings. The world darkens and takes on a blue hue. I notice Pyrrha land beside me, her body a psychedelic mix of greens, yellows and reds, with blue for her cold armour. My heat vision doesn't pick up anything in our area.

"No Grimm for two hundred metres." I say simply, standing up. Pyrrha looks curiously at me. I gesture for us to walk and talk. "Jaune should be in that direction." I point. She nods, but turns to me as we walk after a couple moments silence.

"I can see why they call you 'The Eye'." Pyrrha praises. I give her a salacious wink and a grin.

"I can see why they call you 'The Goddess'." I say teasingly. Pyrrha blushes profusely and I laugh. I decide to move on. "I am surprised you've heard of me, actually." I say honestly, hopping over a log as we walk through the bushes beneath the trees.

"Tournament competitors do enjoy their gossip." She says dryly, the blush dying away. "You're the champion junior sharpshooter in Atlas, you might be surprised how big those waves can be." Pyrrha replies. I hum as we walk, thinking it over. I'd been recognised before of course, but that was in Atlas where I had a rather famous dad after all. I certainly didn't have Pyrrha's own level of fame. I told her as much and she sighed.

"I get it, don't worry. I've had a lot expectations placed on me because of my dad." I tell her. "But that doesn't mean I am not glad to be paired with someone recognised as a serious talent in close combat. I am… proficient… but I do need to work on it." I say with a smile. Pyrrha hesitantly smiles back.

"It seems we are rather balanced, aren't we? I've never had the knack for long range combat." Pyrrha says.

"Not many hunters pursue a ranged spec style." I say. "I am a bit atypical for a huntress in general, actually." I continue. I flick my heat vision on and spot two shapes that could only be beowolves about one hundred metres out to our left. I raise my rifle, switching it to sniper form. I line up as best I can and squeeze out two shots. Two spatters of colour indicate I hit my targets, even through some of intervening trees. Pyrrha gives me a questioning look.

"Two beowolves, one hundred metres." I said with a shrug, starting our walk towards Jaune again.

"Your semblance?" She questions looking interested.

"Mm." I give her a look. "We're partners right?" She nods. "So you're definitely going to find out. We should trust one another." I say with a smile. "Contrary to popular belief, my semblance doesn't enhance my vision." I say.

"How could you see those two beowolves?" She asks.

"Heat vision." I say and her brow furrows, she looks about to ask me a question and I raise my hand. "Let me explain. My semblance is sensory perception. I can manipulate all of my senses." I say. "I've only started mastering a few different forms of visual perception however. Learning to look at the world in a way a human isn't typically meant to is hard work. So many headaches." I moan, stepping through a small puddle. Pyrrha laughs.

"Interesting. And useful." She says with a respectful nod, then she faces forward, looking forward and seems to come to a decision. "My semblance is polarity, control over magnetism. Please don't tell anyone." She asks.

"Of course." I say simply. She gives me a grin.

"I can't tell you how many times I've hit myself in the face with my eating utensils by accident." Pyrrha says. I almost stumble as I laugh at her unexpected comment.

"Can't wait to see that." I tell her chuckling. I flick on my heat vision, trying to pinpoint Jaune's location. I see a shape up in the treelines not far ahead. To our left are two small humanoid bodies. 'Ruby and Weiss...' I muse. "Jaune's up ahead." I say. "Literally."

Pyrrha and I jog into the area where Jaune is pinned by his hoody against a tree.

"Hey guys." Jaune says with a wave.

"How's it hanging?" I ask, arms akimbo.

"I've gained some serious perspective on christmas ornaments." He says dryly. Pyrrha and I snicker.

"Pyrrha, get your spear." I tell her. Jaune instantly looks worried, peering down at the floor.

"Don't worry big guy, I've got you." I say, sheathing my gun. I walk beneath him arms outstretched. Before he can complain, Pyrrha magnetically yanks her spear out of the wood, sending it flying toward her. Jaune squeals as he falls into my arms. I prepare my aura to make sure we don't end up in a pile. Jaune lands squarely in my arms, and I strain to not drop him but manage in the end.

"You might be the second most manly damsel in distress I've rescued." I joke, hefting him in my arms to emphasise my joke. Jaune sputters ineffectually at my barb and I giggle, placing him on his feet.

"We should head to the ruins." Pyrrha says, cutting into our impending banter. Jaune and I nod.

"Ready for anything." Jaune says confidently.

* * *

><p>"<em>I am so not ready for this!"<em> Jaune yells as he dangles from the Deathstalker's tail.

"Whatever you don't let-" Jaune is sent flying off into the distance as the he is flung off the tail, screaming girlishly. "-go..." Sighs Pyrrha. Pyrrha and I share an nervous grin when we realise we have an angry Deathstalker glaring at us.

"Go go go!" I yell, freezing the Deathstalker's feet to the floor with a few bursts of cryo ammo. Pyrrha and I both bolt, running swiftly in the brush. I have to enhance myself with a bit of aura to my legs in order keep up with Pyrrha's speed.

'How could I have forgotten about the huge ass cave with the huge ass scorpion in it!' I scream mentally, slapping myself in my mind.

"Look on the bright side!" I yell again. "Jaune will reach the ruins _really_ soon." I joke.

"Now _we_ have to reach them. Alive, if possible." Pyrrha points out. Behind us we hear the distinct sound of a roar coupled with ice shattering. This is quickly followed by various crashing sounds.

Ah. _That_ could be a problem.

* * *

><p><strong>FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!<strong>

**Please note that this will be a 'Purrha' fic (PyrrhaxBlake) for no other reason than I find their alt pairing name the funniest thing in the world.**

**'Pussy Magnet'**

**_My sides._  
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**_Oh god my sides._  
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**I love it. Anywho; thanks for reading. Later!**


	4. Tactics shmackdic-

**All praise Monty and Rooster Teeth, owners of all things RWBY. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Monty R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

'_Tactics shmackdic_-'

* * *

><p>Let it be known that running through dense woodland, fully kitted out with heavy armour and weaponry is difficult.<p>

Running through dense woodland in your gear is even harder when you are doing your best to not be eaten alive by a giant soulless scorpion.

"Do you ever have regrets?" I yell at Pyrrha as we hurtle through the trees. Pyrrha glances at me like I've lost my mind.

She's not _wrong_…

"I regret wearing more armour. Or not bringing a bigger gun." I continue.

"A big gun _would_ be nice." Pyrrha says dreamily. Mirth bubbles in my chest. Running for our miserable lives is proving to be something of a bonding experience.

"I regret letting Jaune go in that cave." I say, dodging a piece of flying wood courtesy of the enraged monster on our heels.

"A valid regret." Pyrrha nods sternly, running through the woods. "I regret being enchanted by those dreamy blue eyes of his…" Pyrrha says softly, but with my passively enhanced hearing I pick up on it. I stumble, a bit shocked by her words. The Deathstalker takes a swipe at me and I have to duck and redouble my pace to get back to relative safety.

"Don't just say things like that! If you make me laugh too hard I'll _die_." I yell at her. Her green eyes widen and her exercise-flushed face darkens considerably. Pyrrha seemingly pulls on her own aura, outpacing me and pulling ahead.

"Hey wait! Don't _leave_ me! I'm sorry! Talk about his dreamy eyes all you want!" I yell at her back. Her pace increases. "_Pyrrha!"_

* * *

><p>I can see the light of a clearing coming up. Taking a look at the trees in front of me I choose a suitable branch I throw the grapple, sinking it into a branch. I take out my gun and jump as hard as I can and turn mid air. I fire a heavy burst of high explosive rounds at the Deathstalker, hoping to break it's charge. This has the added effect of greatly increasing my acceleration, zipping me through the air in a huge swing and launching me into the clearing at great speed.<p>

'_Thank you, Attack on Titan!' _I exclaim in my mind as I soar through the air. I can see the surprised faces of future team RWBY, Ren, Nora and Jaune as I descend from my great leap. I land in a roll and immediately turn around, gun propped in a kneeling firing position, sniper mode with scope levelled at my eye. I switch to heat vision and watch as Pyrrha and the Deathstalker burst from the treeline.

"Pyrrha, shield high left!" I yell as I fire bursts of icy munitions at the Deathstalker. It's form is cold looking because of the thick armour, but I can see the warm bands of unprotected musculature between the armoured sections of it's legs. The rounds strike the open spots on Pyrrha's right, causing the Deathstalker to stumble, loosing balance. In a feral motion it tries to claw her as it falls, but because of my warning she deflects handily, causing the Deathstalker to flip and slide into the dirt. The force of the blow propels her forward, but with some impressive gymnastics she lands in a sold crouch next to the group.

"Hey partner." I say with a grin. Pyrrha gives me an amused look, shaking her head. A Nevermore shrieks in the distance, closing in our position.

"Great, the gangs all here! Now we can all die together!" Yang exclaims cheerily as the Deathstalker stands a destroys the ice I hit it with.

"Not if I can help it." Ruby says determined, cocking her gun. She dashes forward in a blur of dancing rose petals and is promptly smacked away by the Deathstalker. The Nevermore swoops in close as Ruby retreats.

"Ruby!" Yang yells, running forward. Ruby rushes towards Yang, but the Nevermore caws above them, flapping its wings and releasing a barrage of its razor sharp pinions, stabbing into Ruby's cape as well as preventing Yang from reaching her. "Ruby, get out of there!" Yang yells. I decide to intervene as the Nevermore readies another barrage. With a burst of rifle rounds to it's wings I manage to knock off it's aim, sending the sharpened black feathers soaring off to the right. The Nevermore caws and circles away.

"I'm trying!" Ruby yells, tugging viciously at her trapped cloak. The Death Stalker approaches, raising its golden stinger above a scared Ruby and heading down on the helpless girl.

"Ruby!" Yang screams distressed, reaching her hand out in vain. The stinger starts to descend before it is trapped in a great wall of ice.

"You are so childish!" Ruby cracks her eyes open, moving her arms down from her futile attempt at protecting herself.

"Weiss...?" Ruby questions, seeing the white haired girl standing above her, arms akimbo.

With a snap Weiss retracts her blade from the ice. "And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose I can be a bit... difficult... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be... nicer." Weiss says. I snort and Pyrrha slaps me on the arm, chiding me for inappropriate reaction. I stick my tongue out at her. Nora looks highly amused, watching us with sparkling eyes.

"I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this." I hear Ruby say.

"You're fine." Weiss grounds out, sounding physically pained as she walks away.

"Normal knees..." I hear Ruby whisper. I laugh a little and everyone gives me a strange look.

"It's nothing." I say, waving my hand airily.

"Whoa!" Ruby exclaims as the Deathstalker wriggles, trying to escape.

Yang rushes up to Ruby and gives her a hug. "So happy you're okay!" Yang says as she olds Ruby. The two girls look at each other but are startled and look up when they hear the Nevermore.

"Guys? That thing's circling back! What are we gonna do?" Jaune asks a little panicky, pointing at the returning Nevermore.

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us." Weiss says indicating the temple and the relics. I rush forward and grab a rook, pushing it into my pocket.

"She's right. Our mission is to grab an artefact and make it back to the Cliffs." Ruby says nodding to Weiss. "There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live - that's an idea I can get behind!" Jaune says happily. I pat him on the back roughly.

"Come on then, lion heart, lets get a move on." I say humorously.

The Death Stalker continues to fight its bonds, cracking the ice a little in the process. "Time we left!" Ren says, watching the beast warily.

"Right." Ruby says jumping atop a rock and waving us forward. The sun shines at her back, casting her shadow and making her looks oddly heroic. I chuckle and run forward with the others. "Let's go!" She gestures us forward.

And so we run.

* * *

><p>We have a few minutes until we reach our destination and I decide to continue my plan.<p>

"Hey lionheart, any idea's on how to tackle the big nasty on the ground?" I ask Jaune as we run. He looks confused. "Me, Pyrrha, pinky, greeny and Jaune will take the Deathstalker." I yell. An affirmative "Ok!" from Ruby is all I need to hear. Jaune looks nervous. "Weapons specs?" I ask as we run. Ren looks at me with his vibrant eyes. "Sorry, I don't know your names." I lie.

"Lie Ren. Light, close range dual bladed machine pistols." Ren recites, giving me his name.

"Nora Valkyrie. Heavy, close-mid range Warhammer Grenade launcher." Nora giggles.

"Pyrrha Nickos. Medium, close range rifle, sword, spear and shield." Pyrrha says.

"Jaune Arc. medium, close range sword and shield." Jaune informs me.

"Stella Hikari Ironwood. Heavy, long-mid range. Light to heavy rifle, medium to heavy sniper, light to heavy shotgun, light to heavy pistol, light to heavy machine gun and grenade launcher." I list off quickly. Ren whistles lowly as I wrap up. Jaune takes in every detail quickly, efficiently, I can see the plans forming in his mind.

"Ren should be light support, distraction and hopefully damage at weak points. Nora should stand as our heavy hitter, wait for an opening and then strike to finish the job. Pyrrha and I can distract it, protecting ourselves with our shields. You're best suited to full support, providing suppressive covering fire when you can." Jaune lists off between pants. I nod.

"Ren, try and get behind when you can, maybe you can do some damage with those blades of yours, aim for between the armour." I instruct, Ren nods in agreement. "Nora, try and get it off balance with your grenades when you can. If you have an opening for your warhammer, try and crack that bad boy open." I tell her. She pops a cheeky salute and returns to her jog. "Pyrrha, Jaune, cover each other and keep it from rushing us or attacking the others." I say to them. Pyrrha smiles at me and Jaune shoots me a fatigued thumbs up. "I'll do my best to cover and direct you guys, but I'll be pretty removed from closed quarters so if you see something I don't, capitalise." I say.

"Yes ma'am boss lady!" Nora belts out.

"Good plan." Ren says, gracefully leaping over some fallen debris. We are fast approaching our destination.

"Alright guys, good hustle! Let's do this!" I roar as we reach the cliffside ruins.

* * *

><p>"Well, that's great!" Yang yells as the Nevermore perches on an arch in front of the group.<p>

Jaune looks behind at the Death Stalker bursting onto the scene. "Ah, man, run!" Jaune yelps. As we leave cover the Nevermore rises to strike at us with its projectiles.

"Nora and I will distract it!" I yell and Nora obliges. I switch to motion vision, causing the world to black except for the perfect white silhouettes of the moving figures. I switch to my grenade launcher form, barrel widening immensely and gun folding short. I track the flying barrage. With my simplified, specialised vision I can see their exact flight paths, so I fall into a low crouch, one leg splayed behind. The pinions whistle past me and I return to normal vision. Nora and I blast the Nevermore with a hail of grenades. Her own explode in great clouds of pink lightning and mine white-gold fire. The Nevermore is visibly pushed back by the force, flying away to right itself before it crashes to the ground.

I hear a rumbling behind us as the Deathstalker closes in, but it is stopped by a swooping cross slash performed by Blake and Ren. Weiss jumps in behind a lifts Nora away with a glyph as I barrel forward in a sprint, escaping the clawed monstrosity.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha yells as she stops running beside Jaune and gets out rifle, firing bright red shots along Ren's green bursts until the Deathstalker reaches them, taking a large swipe, forcing us to run again. The nine of us race over an ancient stone bridge, not noticing the Nevermore closing in on them until it uses its bone mask to shatter the path. I jump backwards in a roll to avoid falling into the chasm. This destruction has forced Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora, and Jaune toward the centre of the ruins, away from me. Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha on the other hand stand with me, facing the Deathstalker.

"Blake, go help the others! Nora, Jaune, get over here." I bark. Blake nods, throwing a long tether and jumping off the bridge. I reach to my ammo pack at my back until I come across the belt feed. I snap it into my weapon, shifting it into heavy machine gun form. The gun narrows and lengthens, becoming a long, elongated heavy weapon. Two props jut out in case I wanted to place it on top of cover. I grasp the handle atop the gun and prop it on my hip in a wide stance. "Covering fire!" I yell. Pyrrha and Ren part in front of me, giving me a clear shot at the Deathstalker.

'Not exactly Coco's chaingun, but it'll do.' I think as I open covering fire at the beast. The hail of gun fire pours onto the armour of the ancient grim. Deep trenches and scratches are formed, but no real damage is done. A few lucky shots slide in between the gaps, causing it to screech in pain, however. It tries to protect itself by covering its 'face' with its claws. Ren uses the distraction to slip stealthily behind the massive terror.

"Oh, wait!" I hear Jaune yell. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" He screams flying and landing next to me. Nora glides gleefully forward through the air until she reaches the Deathstalker. With a mighty swing she brings the hammer down with a thundering crack, launching away as the Deathstalker tries to retaliate.

"We gotta move!" I yell and we rush toward it. If we stood still it would have herded us over the edge of the chasm. The Death Stalker aims a claw at Pyrrha, but she deflects it with Akoúo, her shield and slashes it with her blade. The scorpion recoils and swipes at her with its other claw, but Jaune is there to deflect it with his shield, knocking it back so Pyrrha can leap over and attack its face. Ren decides to strike from behind, leaping up and slashing the weak sections of the Deathstalkers tail, leaving it dangly limply. It howls in pain.

To stop it from crushing Ren in retaliation I let loose and blast the weak stinger with concentrated fire. Ren is launched by a piece of thrown debris and is dazed. The fire however drops cause the glowing appendage to drop and penetrate deeply into the hard shell. Pyrrha hurls her javelin straight into one of the monster's ten eyes and as it thrashes in pain it smacks Jaune, sending him flying to land in an unconscious heap. I blast it's open face with armour piercing rounds, causing it to once again cover itself as I take out a few eyes

"Pyrrha, lift! Nora, nail it!" I yell, pointing at the stinger.

"Heads up!" Nora yells as she jumps on Akoúo, Pyrrha leaps as Nora aims her blast down to give herself a maximum lift. The ground beneath Pyrrha cracks and explodes at the force unleashed upon it. She giggles and smiles the entire way up, sitting on Magnhild. With an final laugh she starts flipping in the air, firing her weapon for maximum force.

"_HA SMASH!" _Nora yells, hammering the stinger through the Grimm's brain, killing it instantly. The bridge beneath us breaks and throws us forward. Pyrrha flies forward in a graceful arc, skilfully plucking her spear from the Grimm's eye, landing in a crouch, shield and fist to the ground. Nora launches herself with hammer to land on her butt, which honestly looks rather painful.

I once again prove too heavy to make the initial leap. I land on the Deathstalker, running up it and leaping off as it falls into the abyss. My aura enhanced jump sends me soaring toward my comrades where I land in deep crouch before straightening up. I jog forward to check on Jaune, rolling him over. I am relieved when I realise he has merely exhausted his defensive aura, causing him to fall unconscious.

I give the others a thumbs up. "All good." I say simply. I turn to face the cliff just in time to watch Ruby launch toward it, running up at an impossible speed with Nevermore in tow only to decapitate it in a flurry of rose petals as she reaches the edge. The Nevermore's carcass falls headless down the chasm, already beginning to evaporate. Ren whistles again.

I turn to the others with a frown.

"We have to go climb that cliff, now." I remind them.

I am greeted by a chorus of groans and curses.

* * *

><p>Now we are walking quickly, making our way to the base of the cliff. I slip next Jaune in the back, quietly.<p>

"Hey lionheart, can we talk?" I ask softly. Jaune looks up at me unsurely.

"Sure. What's up?" He asks. I rub the back of my head and give him an apologetic look.

"Look just hear me out before you say anything. I am not doing this to hurt you." I tell him. He looks apprehensive but nods slowly. "You aren't ready to attend Beacon." I tell him bluntly. He flinches. "You simply don't have the requisite combat skill."

He turns to me with eyes full of fire and hurt. "I want to be a hunter." He says firmly. I give him an even stare.

"If you try your luck at Beacon you'll be dead before you become a hunter." I say. He looks ready to protest but I lift a hand to warn him off. "How long have you trained to be a hunter?" I question. Jaune shifts a bit.

"About a year or two?" He says unsurely.

I raise my voice. "Hey guys, how long have you trained to be a hunters?" I yell.

"Seven years." Ren and Nora echo.

"Ten years." Pyrrha exclaims.

"Nine years." I say to Jaune, quieter now. "This isn't an attack on your person Jaune, you have plenty of talent, you simply lack the training."

"I can learn at Beacon." He says stubbornly, eyes narrowed. I sigh in exasperation.

"No, you can't. Beacon is for the furthering of already significantly developed skill sets, you'd be served far better attending basic training than jumping straight into the advanced. You'd be in over your head." I tell him. He looks to be getting angry, but I simply roll over him. "If Pyrrha hadn't thrown her spear to catch you would've been dead a minute into initiation." I say harshly. "If she hadn't unlocked your aura, the throw from the Deathstalker would have shattered every bone in your body." I continue. "And that claw swipe from the Deathstalker would have torn you in half." I say pointedly.

Jaune pales and his mouth shut into a thin line. His head droops as we walk as I let him absorb the information. I can see his confidence waning as he grows visibly upset.

"However, I do have something to offer." I say to him. He pauses and looks at me, eyes piercing. "You've an excellent tactical mind. You were able to quickly and efficiently assign roles to the team based on our varying specialised weapons. This shows both knowledge and quick thinking. The level of tactical talent you displayed was amazing." I tell him warmly. I can see his cheeks growing pink under the praise. "It is however, wasted on small squad based combat." I tell him.

"Why?" He asks simply.

"You're able to take in a broader picture than is usually provided in these small engagements with few intense tactical decisions. You also lack the ability to truly combat with a team at your current level. But there is something you'd be perfect for." I say and he gestures for me to continue. "Officer training."

He blinks at me, a bit stunned. "Military?"

"Yes. They could provide you with the appropriate level of physical training, which you could take to hunter skill levels if you so wished. They could also hone your greatest asset. Your mind. Your ability to comprehend situations and come up with plans would be far more effective on a larger scale and with multiple variables, as is the case in any military operation." I pitch.

Jaune looks pensive. "How? I don't even know where to start." He says.

"Did you forget my dad is a general?" I question. His blush and sheepish look confirms my suspicions. "I might not be a part of the brass officially, but I've been around enough soldiers in my life to spot a good one. If I recommend you, you'll get in." I tell him a trifle arrogantly.

"You'd do that?" He questions wide eyed.

"Of course." I tell him warmly. "You're a good person, but I think you've a skill set that calls you elsewhere. I'd love to help facilitate that."

"Where would I go?" He asks curiously, obviously mulling over the idea.

"Atlas military academy, of course." I say as I bonk him over the head. "They also train Atlas' hunter corps, so you'll have all the facilities you'll need if you really want to become one." We reach the cliff, all looking up.

"This is going to _suck_." Ren says dryly, looking up. Nora sighs, stretching and cracking her back. Pyrrha straps her armour on tighter and sheathes her weapons. I sheathe my weapon and grab my grapple to climb. I turn to Jaune, who is looking thoughtful.

"Think it over. If you want to do it, tell Ozpin and he can get in contact with me and my dad." I say as I start toward the cliff.

Seems the plan is really coming along now.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day, as the teams wait for the ceremony.<em>

* * *

><p>"-then Nora hammered it through the exoskeleton and killed it." I finish. The soon to be team RWBY looks at me. Weiss looks distraught, head in her hands.<p>

"If only I could have been paired with someone with some tactical sense." She mutters. Yang scoffs.

"Pfft. You know what I say? Tactics shmackdic-" Ruby slaps her hand over her sisters mouth and gives us all uneasy smile. I cough into my hand to hide my laughter. Blake raises a delicate eyebrow at my apparent immaturity.

"Yes well..." Pyrrha says unsurely, but then cranes her head and looks around the room. "Where is Jaune?" She questions. I shake my head at her.

"If this is what I think this is, I'll tell you later." I say. Pyrrha looks satisfied, but Ruby who had been listening narrows her eyes a little suspiciously. Just as she opens her mouth to say something, an usher steps in to show us into the hall.

Soon we are seated next to the large stage, where a huge screen sits behind, showing clips of initiation. Our two groups battle with the giant Grimm is featured repeatedly, as is the shot of Ruby decapitating the Nevermore. Ozpin walks onto the stage and approaches the microphone.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." He says simply and the screen of the auditorium shows each of their profiles as the boys are lined up for the applauding audience. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL (Cardinal), led by... Cardin Winchester!" The group of boys walk off the stage to some more adulation from the crowd. My face and three others pop up on the screen. I breathe deep to ease my nerves as I walk up the metal steps.

"Stella Hikari Ironwood. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie." The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team SNPR. (Sniper)," Amid the clapping, Nora laughs and gives Ren a hug. I breathe in and out, nerves on fire as I am applauded by the crowd. "Led by... Stella Hikari Ironwood!" Ozpin says. My eyes go huge, my mouth slack. I hadn't really thought I would be made leader. Looking back on it, it must seem my plan had come off as leadership... 'Oh I am _so_ screwed.'

"Congratulations, young lady." A grinning Pyrrha offers a friendly shoulder bump to me, ending up butting me in the ribs in the chest. I scowl a little, rubbing the sensitive spot and Pyrrha gives me a sheepish grin. We walk off to the friendly laughter of the crowd. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang walk up next.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby). Led by... Ruby Rose!" Ozpin says to a cheering crowd. I whistle and clap, happy for the young prodigy. Weiss looks visibly shocked for a second, before the decorum engrained in her being by her upbringing brings her face back to a happy neutral.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang says, hugging her sister.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin says, walking off without further ado. I breathe out. It seems like my plan had worked, changing the Ruby storyline forever.

An interesting year indeed.

* * *

><p><strong>FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!<strong>

**These are the pairings I have decided on so far.**

**Hot Cocoa (**Yang x Coco)****

****Pussy Magnet (Blake x Pyrrha)****

****Weiss x Stella (Weiss x OC)****

****Noren (Nora x Ren)****

****Sea Monkeys (Neptune x Sun)****

****Jaune x Penny (Ship name? I like Nuts and Dolts, but I think that refers to Ruby x Penny)****

****Anywho, thanks for reading!****


	5. Nora is evil

**Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth own RWBY. And my soul, unfortunately.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Nora is evil

* * *

><p>"This is pretty decent." I say to my teamates as we walk into our new dorm. It's about eight thirty at night. The ceremony was about an hour ago. We're all pretty tired but after a warm shower and a hot dinner feeling much more human.<p>

The room is sizeable and decently furnished. Four small desks, one for each teammate all equipped with a lamp ad chair. Two smallish bookshelves and four single beds. Hardwood floors, two windows and beige walls. ('_Boring_')

All in all it's pretty functional and not too bad to look at.

"Alright, pick a bed guys." I wave forward. Ren shrugs, walking to the far right and plopping himself down with a sigh. Nora giggles and jumps on top of him, in the same bed.

"Gah!" Ren gasps as Nora lands atop him.

"Different beds, Nora." I say with a small smile.

"Awww." Nora pouts, but rolls off a slightly squished Ren. Ren himself shoots me a thankful thumbs up. Nora promptly jumps onto the bed next to him, bouncing up and down.

"Ren, we have _roommates!_ Isn't that cool? It's sort of like living with family, but not really because their your friends! Well we are going to be living here for four years, maybe we will be family! Oh we could marry one of them! Would that count? But you couldn't ask to marry them if they were already family, Renny!" Nora blurts out.

"Nora…" Ren says slowly, eliciting a giggle and a "Sorry Ren!"

I shake my head and approach the bed next to hers. The girl might be a handful but she is undeniably very sweet. And a bit loony, but who needs sanity anyway? As I reach my bed I give it a once over.

"Oh dust damn it." I say disdainfully. Everyone in the room turns to look at me apprehensively. I raise my finger as if to say 'watch'. I fall backwards onto the bed.

Or most of me does. My feet dangle stupidly over the edge of the bed even with my head atop the pillows at the end of it.

"This is going to be a running theme here, I can tell." I say mournfully. Pyrrha laughs lightly, patting my leg sympathetically as she walks to her bed. Ren looks slightly amused, but mostly content to be on a good bed. Nora is looking at me through squinted eyes.

"You look a lot less mean now than you did earlier." She says. I groan.

"I just have that kind of face!" I say heartily.

"The huge gun and battle armour didn't help." Ren says dryly. I give him a betrayed look.

"I love my gun and battle armour!" I retort.

Ren gives me a sardonic grin. "I think that might be part of the problem."

I blow a raspberry at him. "Your just jelly." I say.

"Jelly?" Pyrrha asks curiously.

"Jelly?" Nora echoes hungrily.

"Jealous." I explain. "And sorry Nora, but I think you would have noticed by now if Ren was made of jelly." Nora gives me a serious nod.

"Probably." Nora agrees.

"I can guarantee that I am not, in fact, made of jelly." Ren says voice sounding amused.

"That's slightly disappointing, but for the best I think. The hunter lifestyle is not one for foodstuffs." Pyrrha says teasingly.

"I feel like the Grimm might disagree." I say with a heavy dose of gallows humour. Pyrrha's face scrunches in distaste and Ren looks surprised at my dark joke, but disturbingly Nora looks genuinely amused.

'She isn't exactly all sunshine and buttercups then.' I think, noting her reaction.

"Anyway, I feel like we should a quick chat before we go to bed. Talk about our likes, dislikes, our skills and what we hope to achieve at Beacon. Simple stuff." I say, sitting up. I get two low-key affirmatives and a jaunty salute from Nora. "Who would like to go first?" Nora's hand shoots straight up. "Go for it."

"Hey I'm Nora." She says with a wave, even to Ren, who waves back slightly with a small smile. "I like pancakes, the colour pink, music and Ren. But not _like-like_ him. Not that you aren't likeable in that wa-" She begins going off on a tangent.

"Nora." Ren interrupts. She giggles and stops.

"I dislike the Grimm, cleaning and homework. I am getting pretty good with Magnhild… Oh and I am a good cook! My family owns a bakery. Oh oh oh and I am pretty good at blacksmithing, it's also a family thing…" She pauses and considers her next sentence. "I came to Beacon to learn how to kick butt!" She concludes. Ren looks surprised.

"That was _succinct_." He says sounding dazed. Nora shrugs at him with small mysterious smile. Ren shakes his head.

"Lie Ren. I like meditation, flowers, painting, coffee and…" Nora sticks up her hand enthusiastically. "Nora." He finishes with a resigned sigh. Nora practically glows. "I dislike green tea," He grimaces, as if the word itself is distasteful. "the ocean and wool. I have skills in martial arts, aura manipulation and my Stormflowers. I came to Beacon to discover my semblance, hone my skill and become an official hunter." Ren lists off.

'Pretty interesting guy.' I think. 'It's odd how much the show manages to portray, but also what it manages to miss.' I think, clearing my throat to go next.

"Stella Hikari Ironwood. I like mechanical engineering, coffee," Ren looks pleased. "Reading, running and my family. I dislike racism, criminals, Ozpin's blatant sizism," Nora giggles and Ren chuckles. "And the way everyone thinks I am about to murder them when we first meet." I say dryly. Pyrrha snickers. "I have skills in engineering and with the variety of ranged weaponry contained in Duress' Embrace. I came to Beacon to develop a close quarters weapon, learn dust magic and to earn my place in the world." I finish. Ren looks interested in my last statement.

Pyrrha clears her throat and gives us all a small smile. "Pyrrha Nickos. I like competitive sports, ballroom dancing, playing the guitar,"

'I never would have guessed.' I think, surprised.

"And bubble baths." She says, cheeks slightly pink. "I dislike injustice, forges, feeling filthy and expectations. I am skilled with Milo and Akou, my weapons. I also have some skills in the medical field. I came to Beacon to become a great huntress, to make a difference and to find true companions." She says firmly.

"Well I'd say we all know each other a little better." I say happily. "Now um, I'd like to ask you guys what you think about me being team leader." I question awkwardly. "Honest opinions. I'd rather know now than agonise over it later." I tell them. Pyrrha lays a hand on my shoulder, giving me an encouraging smile.

"I am glad to have you as my leader, I am sure you will do well." She says. I can feel my cheeks heat up.

"Yeah! You'll do great boss lady!" Nora encourages with a wide smile.

"Honestly? I don't care as long as I don't have to lead." Ren says, but pauses and considers. "But I am sure you will be fine."

"Thanks guys." I say, feeling a bit lighter. "I am not going to lie and tell you I know what I am doing, but um, I am going to try my best. Just remember I was raised by a General so if I start getting a little too soldiery... well tell me. I know the most important thing about a team is communication. Don't be afraid to ask or say anything." I say, breathing out. "Now before you go to bed I'd like to know what your biggest weakness as a hunter is. If we can help each other improve we should." I say. Pyrrha looks thoughtful, Nora seems unconcerned and Ren seems uncaring. "My melee combat is fairly poor compared to you guys and I have to do something about it. I just don't know what, yet." I tell them.

"I need to work on my endurance and strength. I get tired easily and I am not sure I could even lift that lump of steel you so happily run around with, Stella." Ren says teasingly.

"I'll show you a lump of steel." I say giving him a mock glare.

"I can fight but that's pretty much it. I don't have any other hunter skills like tracking or stealth." Nora says a bit downcast. I throw my arm around her shoulder and give her a hug.

"We haven't even had our first day, don't get down on yourself." I say softly. She gives me a grin and cuddles into me. It's almost innocent until...

"Your like, the biggest pillow _ever_." She says snuggling my chest. "You look so much more girly without the armour!" I can feel my face heat up as Nora continues nuzzling my chest. Her body is a warm, soft weight on mine, and her fingers burn hotly on my sides through the thin fabric. I can feel her warm breath on my breasts and it sends goosebumps down my side. 'God damn it I knew I should have worn a bra under my PJ's.'

"No-ra." I say lowly. I clear my throat to get some of the huskiness out. Pyrrha's face is pinking but Ren's sly grin show he is obviously finding my reaction entertaining. Nora looks up at me curiously. "Could you please stop playing with my boobs?" I say bluntly. Nora looks nonplussed._  
><em>

"_Why? _They're great!" She says enthusiastically, reaching up and palming them. I am pretty sure my face is cherry red at this point. It doesn't get any better when her finger trails over a sensitive spot and I have to stifle a very obvious moan. Pyrrha's face is bright red, buried in her hands. Ren is laughing into his own, trying to hide his mirth.

'Oh my god this is so embarrassing.' I think mortified. "Nora, I am pretty gay. Unless you want to take team bonding to a whole 'nother level, please stop that." I say semi-jokingly, trying to make light of my situation. What can I say? Nora's an attractive woman and she _is_ all over me.

Nora giggles and removes her hands. I breathe a sigh of relief. She doesn't let go however and just burrows into my side for a much less exciting cuddle.

"Oops." She says. I cough, trying to get the conversation back on track. Pyrrha is obviously having trouble looking at Nora and I, her cheeks pink. Ren has his head propped up in his hands, having enjoyed someone else trying to deal with Nora.

"I am skilled in close combat, but I lack versatility. My fighting style is unfortunately predictable." Pyrrha says, looking at the wall.

"Ok. We'll talk some more tomorrow." I say, peeling Nora off me. "We need sleep."

'Translation; I need sleep after Nora almost accidentally seduced me.' I think. Pyrrha nods fervently, happy to have some space and to forget this entire ordeal. I am inclined to agree with her. Rens face shows that I am not forgetting any time soon, however. I glower at him and his air of smug victory deepens.

Bastard.

"Alright then! Night Pyrrha, Stella!" She says, then pads over to Ren. "G'night Ren." She says huskily, leaning over and giving him an obvious view down her top. His eyes widen as she lays a light kiss on his nose, before going to bed with a giggle. Ren turns to me with his eyes still a little wide, cheeks pink.

"There's no way she isn't doing it on purpose." He says lowly, pointing between us. I nod.

"She's evil." I surmise, before standing up. "But she's also your problem. Good night." I say.

Ren looks more than a little apprehensive, but then waves and heads for his bed.

'My teammates... One caring, lonely gladiator. One intense, silent warrior and a bubbly, insane, probable seductress.' I think, lying down. 'If nothing else, this should prove interesting.'

* * *

><p><strong>Favourite~Review~Follow!<strong>

**What's life without Nora casually sexually assaulting her teammates? Probably a whole lot more wholesome, but less fun.**

**Short chapter, I know, but it felt complete without moving on to the next day.**

**Later!**


	6. Highschool Two Point Oh

**Monty Oum is the lord and master of all things RWBY. Rooster teeth sometimes too.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Highschool 2.0

* * *

><p>Waking up for school was harder than I thought it would be. On Earth I had twelve years of school, coupled with six years of college study, spending the vast majority of my life in scholarly pursuits. On Remnant I had spent the last nine years training and being tutored to be a hunter, all together a more physical side of things.<p>

I had gone into the pre-hunter academy in Atlas at the age of twelve with the mindset of someone that had spent eighteen years perfecting the art of studying. And it showed. Aside from the things I didn't need to relearn, there wasn't all that much to study. I knocked out the academic portion of my pre-hunter school life in a year. That left me with four years of classes of my choice, more or less. So I took extra classes in my preferred subjects, I learnt how to create exceptional mecha-shift weaponry from nothing more than ore. I had taken all the marksmanship training I could get. I unlocked and furthered my aura manipulation

In hindsight I should probably have spent more time on melee combat, though. It was my weakness then and it my weakness now.

None the less, I was known as a prodigal student, even with my average CQC (close quarters combat).

And here I was, faced with book learning again. Contrary to popular belief Beacon wasn't just a place where you learnt to hit things. Hunters are not traditional warriors. Beyond their borderline preternatural combat skills was a massive wellspring of knowledge.

Mathematics, physics, biology, literature, history, politics, dust theory, engineering and a hundred different fields one had to be competent in. Hunters were the best because they could perform in any situation, because coupled with their skill was the knowledge of _how_ to be the best warriors and protectors they could be.

Of course that wasn't to say combat took a sideline. At least half the classes were combat orientated, training their bodies, skills or abilities. Most of these classes were compulsory.

The compulsory classes were taken with your team, but you always had the option to take extra classes or tutoring. Some students even learnt directly from older students. It was a fairly intricate system, and not thoroughly policed. As Ozpin had said, the tools to learn were provided and it was up to us to take initiative and improve ourselves.

Now I was already a well-educated person; an amazing engineer even by professional standards on Remnant. I probably could have (_should have_) pursued a life as an engineer. I had already completed my tertiary education.

So the thought of attending high school again was less than exciting. Sure, there were a great many things for me to learn, but all things mathematics was wasted on me. I could teach those classes. And if they thought they could teach me to shoot better I'd quickly set them straight. One doesn't spend thousands of hours handling every form of gun on Remnant without becoming a crack shot, especially with the aid of a sensory semblance.

But I digress. I was not looking forward to going back to school.

* * *

><p>With a groan I relented, getting out of bed. The early morning light shone altogether too cheerfully through our windows. The other occupants of the room were breathing quietly. Nora practically vibrated in her sleep. If I didn't know better I would swear the girl ran on nuclear power, the amount of energy she has.<p>

It's only seven in the morning, plenty of time for me to grab a shower, change and then wake them all for the day.

The shower was lovely, and clean. Lucky for our team us girls weren't the biggest on hair care and the like, so sharing wasn't a problem. As long as we had the essentials (shampoo, conditioner, soap) we were set. Which was good, because Pyrrha's shampoo was the nicest smelling bottle of blue goo I've ever come across.

After I had taken my nice and invigorating shower I went to brush my teeth. I noticed something as the dust powered toothbrush did it's job. I had a blue toothbrush. Check. Pyrrha had a light green tooth brush, I had seen it the night before. Check. Ren had a black toothbrush, check. Nora...

I look at the black toothbrush.

I think I might hide mine.

* * *

><p>Ren and I were making our beds, having relinquished the bathroom to Pyrrha and Nora.<p>

A loud whistle breaks the silence.

"_Good morning team RWBY!" _Our young friend shouts enthusiastically from across the hall. Ren continues his bedmaking, but meets my eyes.

"I've a growing appreciation of you as our leader." He says, lips quirked slightly.

'Don't think I've forgotten about last night, you smug... damn... I am pretty glad I didn't say that out loud.' I think, cheeks heating up at my failed internal wit. "Nora's using your toothbrush." I say, hoping to distract him from my reddening face.

Rens pauses his work, his index finger and thumb make an inexorable journey to the bridge of his nose, pinching lightly.

"Nora!" He says loudly. A bang and a crash later, she hops out of the bathroom.

Black toothbrush lodged firmly in her mouth.

"_Gwha_?" She says, a dribble of foam escaping onto her chin. Cute and gross; rolled into one questionably sane package. Ren eyes the offending object.

"Is that my toothbrush?" He asks rhetorically. Nora nods, nonplussed.

"Do you have a toothbrush?" He continues. Nora nods, scrubbing away happily.

"Where is it?" Ren asks. Nora points to the brush in her mouth.

"You are going to use my toothbrush?" Ren says, his calm composure cracking slightly.

"_Ohur 'oothbruss." _Nora says around a mouthful of toothpaste, rolling her eyes and sounding as if she were an adult teaching a simple child about a fundamental law of the universe. She turns around and slips back into the bathroom._  
><em>

Ren's eyebrow twitches violently.

Lucky for my health I've my hand clamped firmly over my mouth to prevent any laughter spilling out.

* * *

><p>"It's eight thirty, we have class in about half an hour. Who wants to go grab some breakfast?" I ask my assembled team.<p>

"_Oooh _I wonder if they have pancakes?" Nora squeals excitedly, hopping up out of bed.

"Breakfast would be lovely." Pyrrha says agreeably, walking out the dorm with me.

Ren evidently has no choice, as he is promptly scooped out his bed by Nora into a bridal carry.

"Yes, I think I'll join you." He says simply.

"Did you have a choice?" Pyrrha wonders, walking into the hall. A series of sawing, hammering and crashing noises emanate from the team RWBY dorm.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Nora says happily, skipping past us with Ren in her arms. For his part he merely looks nonchalantly around the halls, obviously acclimatised to Nora's antics.

"I am not sure but I think that relationship is _so_ dysfunctional it's come full circle." I muse watching the bubbly girl skip with the not so bubbly boy in her arms.

"They make a good team." Pyrrha says, watching as well. Ren is summarily dropped when we walk into the food hall and Nora spots pancakes. He flips and lands in a crouch, rising and dusting himself off. He walks up and joins Nora once more, serving himself a small breakfast.

"He must teach saints lessons in patience." I say. Soon I've joined my friends with a bowl of fruit salad and a cup of coffee.

"You guys excited?" I ask as we eat. Pyrrha nods, with a small smile, taking a sip of juice. Ren hums what I think is an affirmative. Nora explodes out of the seat.

"I am _so_ ready!" Nora yells.

"I am not sure our professor is." I mutter, looking straight at Noras fist pumping form. Pyrrha giggles lightly.

"What class do we have first?" Ren asks curiously. I look in the small ledger that was provided to the team leaders.

"We only have team classes for the first week..." I say, flipping to day one. "Grimm Studies with professor Peter Port." I say. Nora pouts.

"Aw! I wanted a fight!" She says enthusiastically.

"We're at a combat school, it'll happen." I tell her sympathetically. She looks appeased for now. "Speaking of, we should find some time at the end of this week for sparring." I say to my team. They look at me curiously and I shrug. "We need to familiarise ourselves with each others fighting style." I explain. "We don't have any sparring in the first week." I continue.

"No fighting for a _week?" _Nora says aghast.

"I would volunteer... but you're a bad match for me and I don't look forward to being flattened by a greathammer." I say sympathetically.

"Doe anyone ever look forward to that?" Ren wonders.

"I'll be sure to ask each of her surviving victims." I tell him, patting his arm.

"I don't think we should encourage her to flatten anyone." Pyrrha says, watching Nora warily as the girl gets visibly more and more excited.

"Probably." I say with a shrug. "Ren control your partner." I say turning to him. He shoots me a commiserating look.

"After all these years you think it's going to start working now?" He says standing up and shaking his head. "Poor, poor deluded fool..." His voice trails off as he walks away.

"Isn't that insubordination?" I ask Pyrrha curiously.

"Self preservation, I imagine." Pyrrha says with good humour. I take a glance at my watch. Looks like we have ten minutes to get to class. Oh goody.

* * *

><p>"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!" Professor Port says boisterously at the front of the class. I've got my pen and paper ready, hoping that there might be a lesson hidden in his infamous stories."Uhhhh... And you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy! Now, as I was saying: Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world! Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses..." He says, giving Yang a wink. The girls in the class collectively shudder and Yang groans aloud. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, the very world!" He says ominously.<p>

"That is what you are training to become. But first: A story. A tale of a young, handsome man... Me! When I was a boy..." The professor continues. I listen to his strangely convoluted tale and manage to dig up a few interesting tidbits. Beowolves can grow to over twelve feet tall, have a weakness against silver based projectiles (something about a compound in their blood turning to acid on contact) and travel in packs of no less than three but no more than twenty.

"...Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter', he told me..." He continues. Beowolves are easier to dispatch with bladed or piercing weaponry because of their weak defensive capabilities. Weapons that open their main veins will cause them to bleed enough ichor for them to die within seconds I jot down. Honestly, there is a lot to be gained in these classes if you can manage to listen to his painful epics.

A low murmur of talking develops amongst the class, disrupting his story. "Ah-heh-hem!" He clears his throat pointedly. "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!" He finishes grandly.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable!" I hear a frustrated sound and turn to see Weiss glaring at Ruby. Ruby is balancing an apple on a book with her pencil held only by her finger while making stupid faces. "A true Huntsman must be dependable!" Ruby starts falling asleep in the middle of her impromptu performance. I can almost hear Weiss's teeth grinding. "A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!"

'Ew. That's actually pretty gross.' I think, watching as Weiss nearly goes into apoplexy as Ruby picks her nose in the middle of the class. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Professor Port asks the class.

Weiss thrusts her hand into the air sharply. "I do, sir!" Port turns to her and nods.

"Well, then, let's find out! Step forward, and face your opponent!" Port says, dragging a cage into the room. Weiss gracefully walks down the steps and considers the rattling cage in front of her.

"Goooo, Weiss!" Yang cheers.

"Fight well!" Blake says, waving a team RWBY flag.

'Where'd she get that? When would she even had time to make it?' I wonder.

"Yeah, represent teeeeam RWBY!" Ruby yells.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" Weiss snaps, lowering her sword a little.

"Oh, um... Sorry..." Ruby says sheepishly

"Allllright!" He pulls out his shotaxe and hefts it. "Let the match... begin!" The professor swings down and breaks the lock, dropping the cage door and revealing the Boarbatusk inside, which immediately charges at Weiss. She raises her blade and deflects it's speedy charge, causing it tumble and turn itself before regaining it's feet. It circles around her slowly, studying her.

"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" The professor taunts the beast. Or Weiss. It's unclear, really.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby encourages. Weiss zooms forward and attempts to pierce the Grimm's skull with her rapier, but it is caught in it's tusks. The Grimm tosses to and fro the blade but Weiss remains steady, looking at the beast in front of her, holding onto her sword.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!" The professor cheers. Again, the intended target is unclear.

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby cheers again.

Weiss turns to glare at Ruby, only for the Boarbatusk to turn its head and rip the sword from her grip. The weapon spins through the air and lands on the ground with an audible clatter.

"Oh-ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port asks. Clearer this time.

The beast charges again and Weiss snaps to look at it just before it reaches her. It slams into the desk behind her as she rolls away, palming Myrtenaster as she moves by it.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-" Ruby starts but is cut off when Weiss spins to face her, visibly fuming.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss yells. Ruby sinks into her seat at Weiss's chiding. Meanwhile the Boarbatusk does a signature attack of it's species, spinning rapidly to gain speed to strike at an enemy. She blocks the speeding Grimm with a glyph, then jumps arobatically backward, landing on another glyph. With a flick of her hand the glyph changes and launches Weiss forward, sword thrust forward. Myrtenaster penetrates deep into the soft underbelly of the Boarbatusk. It squeals in pain, thrashing wildly before it's heart beats its last and it stills.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Professor Port congratulates. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!" Weiss glares at Ruby and stalks away, walking hurriedly to the exit past her teammates.

"That's going to be trouble." I say, watching Weiss leave in a rage. The rest of teams SNPR and RWBY look like they agree.

* * *

><p>"What do think Weiss was so angry about?" Ren asks over dinner. He looks curious but underneath... calculating. I give him an appraising look over, taking a bite of my lasagna and chewing slowly.<p>

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company, one of the richest people in the world. Born into wealth, prestige and a position of power. The same Weiss Schnee now under the command of a highly skilled but undeniably immature girl two years her junior. The problem is that after partnering with Ruby assumed she would guide their duality but after Ozpin placed Ruby as team leader the position of power was solidified, and not in her favour. She's mature and experienced enough that she assumed she would lead, but not mature and experienced enough to see that she doesn't know how to follow." I theorise. Ren is chewing slowly, nodding in agreement. Nora looks thoughtful and a little impressed at my breakdown of the situation.

"You are showing a surprising insight into team dynamics, dear leader." Pyrrha teases.

"I agree." A voice says behind them. I spin in my seat to be confronted with Ozpin, standing and watching us all, coffee mug in hand.

"Ah... Hello, Headmaster." I say with an informal salute. Nora giddily copies my salute into an elaborate gesture of her own.

"Hello sir." Ren and Pyrrha chorus.

"Hello, team SNPR." The Headmaster says agreeably. "How was your first day at Beacon?" He asks.

"Excellent, sir." I say with a small smile. It truly had been better than I was expecting.

"Interesting." Ren muses, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

"The classes were enjoyable and helpful." Pyrrha chimes in.

"_Bo-ring!_" Nora puts her two cents in. All of us turn to look at her, aghast. "I didn't get to hit _anything_." She mourns. The Headmaster grins and takes a sip of his drink.

"Maybe you could persuade one of your teammates for a spar? Combat does not begin until next week." The Headmaster suggests.

'_Sadist!' _My mind screams. "I choose to keep my limbs." Wait. This is Beacon, _the _best hunter academy in the world. There's always a chance... "Unless you have full range combat grounds...?" I ask curiously. He scoffs softly.

"But of course." He says. "If you'll excuse me, I must go check on the other new teams." We all say our brief goodbyes.

My mouth turns up into a dangerous grin. I turn to my team. "Well well well. It seems I don't have to get into one of those detestably tiny rings to have a spar." I crack my knuckles over my head in a stretch and consider each of my teammates. "Interested?" I ask. Ren scoffs and shakes his head in a firm no. Pyrrha outright laughs at me, shaking her head.

Nora nods happily. Ren turns to her with what could only be an air of vindication.

"Nora, full combat grounds are a entire mile in radius, filled with terrain." Ren explains. "And our dear team leader is purportedly one of the best shots on Remnant." He says.

I scoff at him. "Purportedly my ass. Give me three years and there won't be anyone better. Give me five and I'll be the best, hands down." I say arrogantly.

"Sooo?" Nora asks curiously, head tilted to the side. Pyrrha pats her on the arm.

"You just challenged the girl with a weapon that is literally a gun with guns inside of it to a shootout." She explains. Something clicks in Nora's mind, because she turns to look at me and my downright giddy smile. She frowns.

"_Ooohh," _She notices my predatory features. "I feel like I've made a mistake. Renny?" She turns to look at him. He pats her arm as well._  
><em>

"You've made a mistake." He confirms. She looks at Pyrrha for support.

"Why do you think I said no?" Pyrrha says, wiping her mouth with her napkin. Nora at last turns to me.

"Revenge for getting to second base without taking me out to dinner first." I tell her with my wicked smile. Nora sighs, and stabs her plate with her fork she's about to respond when...

"Oh. What's this I hear~?" I hear Yang's voice behind me.

"What's with people sneaking up on us at dinner?" I wonder out loud. Team RWBY joins us at the table. Yang looks amused and curious, Blake just surprised, Weiss has a dusting of light pink on her cheeks and Ruby confused.

'Ruby must have had her chat with Ozpin already... but judging by how she is avoiding looking at Weiss, she hasn't apologised yet.'

"Second base, eh Nora? You work fast." Yang wiggles her eyebrows at us. I shrug.

"She has the _loveliest_ boobs." Nora chips in. Ruby catches on to our subject apparently because her face starts flaming. Weiss looks affronted.

"That's so indecent! You hardly know one another!" Weiss accuses. I turn to her and smile.

"Team bonding." I say glibly.

"It _was _entertaining to watch..." Ren muses and team RWBY gapes at us collectively. Pyrrha decides to join in our fun, even with her light red cheeks.

"I certainly learnt a bit more about our team leader." She says with a salacious grin, getting up and gesturing for us to leave. I give the table a wink, and walk over to Nora, hefting her over my shoulder. She giggles and squeaks when I give her a light smack on the ass. Ren laughs lightly as he follows us. I look over and notice team RWBY blushing up a storm.

"What just happened...?" I hear Ruby's voice question.

* * *

><p>"I have to say I am pretty curious as to what they think is going on in here." Ren says, handing me some cards. It was just before lights out and our group was relaxing and playing some cards.<p>

"You can probably guess." I say, looking at my hand.

Suddenly I hear some suspicious shuffling outside our dorm and decide to confirm what I think it is.

As I switch on my semblance I concentrate on heat vision. Four bright, distinct shapes are pressed against our door. I turn to my friends and mouth 'team RWBY' and point to our door.

"Why don't we have a little fun." I say loudly with an exaggerated wink, hiking my thumb behind me at our eavesdroppers. Pyrrha catches on and gives me a wolfish grin.

"I'd love to. I've been feeling so _tight_ all day." She says loudly. I hear a distinct choking sound come from behind the door. Nora catches on just as fast.

"Mm, how about a _real_ spanking?" She asks loudly, looking me dead in the eye.

I really hope she is just joining in on the joke...

"Being the only male in this group is going to kill me." Ren says, shaking his head. I give him a sympathetic look.

"Probably." I say and I am not just thinking about the double entendres.

Very soon all the sounds we are making are series of lewd noises, thumping our hands on the floor and walls. Squeaking and sounds of disbelief are heard on the other side of our door. I decide to amp my hearing slightly, wincing at the noise around me but toughing it out.

"_This is so indecent!_" I hear Weiss.

"_It is certainly shocking." _Blake says.

"_What's going on? Yang, why do you have your hands over my ears?" _Ruby questions loudly.

"_Shhhhh. This is nuts!" _Yang says excitedly from the hall. A proverbial lightbulb goes off in my head.

"Hey guys." I say, faux breathlessly. "What would you say about getting team RWBY in on this?" I question loudly and huskily. Pyrrha clamps her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter. Ren grins. I walk toward the door.

"Dibs on Yang." Nora says cheerily.

"I wonder what Weiss has under that skirt?" I say saucily as I approach the door.

Cue much louder choking sounds and squeaks of disbelief.

"_Oh my god!" _Weiss shrills. I can actually see the warmth building on their faces due to my heat vision.

"_Oh my... I think we should go." _Blake says.

"_What is even happening right now?!' _Ruby questions loudly.

"_Holy shit, this team is crazy." _Yang says, voice disbelieving. I tear open the door, causing all four girls to tumble into a heap.

"Hello ladies." I say voice filled with laughter. Yang claps hands over Ruby's eyes, but peeks into the dorm. She notices Nora, Ren and Pyrrha waving cheerily, playing cards.

"I uh.. we..." Blake says weakly, but stops. I can see proverbial lightbulb flicker into life, turning her look thoughtful. Weiss looks too shocked to speak, poor dear. Yang looks oddly disappointed and Ruby is getting visibly frustrated.

"I give up." Ruby says, throwing her hands into the air. "I don't even want to know anymore." She says.

"How did you know we were there?" Blake asks curiously. "We were rather stealthy."

"I heard some light noise, and then I saw you." I say simply.

"You... saw us?" Ruby asks head tilted to the side.

"Yup." I nod.

"Through a wall?" Weiss asks eyebrows raised.

"Yup." I nod again.

"How'd you do _that_?" Yang asks me.

"My semblance of course. Now if you're done spying," I say and all except Weiss have the good grace to look sheepish. "I'd like to get back into it." I say, gesturing toward my friends and giving team RWBY an large wink.

I close the door and walk toward my team before bursting into laughter. Soon we are all laughing, then chuckling then giggling.

"Dear Dad, today I convinced some of my new friends that our team has already devolved into orgies. Love Stella." I say, plopping onto my bed. "I think he'd have a stroke." I giggle.

Ren blanches. "Imagine telling _my_ parents." He says horrified, turning to Nora. Nora spends all of half a second considering before devolving into cackles. "Actually don't imagine it. Don't consider it. Don't theorise about it. Don't even _think_ about it." He instructs Nora watching as she reaches for her scroll. She pouts but relents, climbing into bed.

"Oh man, Beacon is going to be _fun_." I say. "Let's just hope we don't break team RWBY too soon."

A suckers bet, really.

* * *

><p><strong>Favourite~Review~Follow!<strong>

**It's their first day and I have them devolving into faux orgies. Oh dear.**

**Oh well.**

**Pairings! Woo!**

**Hot Cocoa (Yang x Coco)**

**Scarlet Roses (Ruby x Velvet)**

**Glass Cannon (Jaune x Penny)**

**Team Sloth (Ren x Nora)**

**Pussy Magnet (Blake x Pyrrha)**

**Sea Monkeys (Sun x Neptune)**

**Emerald Elements (Emerald x Mercury)**

**Other pairings in the future maybe...**


	7. Meet the General

**Monty Oum owns RWBY, along with Rooster Teeth.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

'Meet the General'

* * *

><p>"UP AND AT THEM, SOLDIER!"<p>

"SIR, YES SIR!" I yell, bolting out of bed into a salute, hair wild and clothes dishevelled.

"Ahh!" "Holy s-" "Wha?!" Three voices exclaim in unison, confused and scared. I feel my senses come to me, taking in the early morning light, the sight of my friends flailing and falling out of their beds and Jaune looking smug, holding a scroll in my doorway.

A scroll with a video feed.

A video feed of my father, laughing his gigantic white ass off.

"Dust damn it dad, you scared the hell out of me." I say, holding a hand over my heart, trying to slow its pounding pace.

"You're right sir, that _was_ funny." Jaune says with a rather unmanly giggle. His giggles die in his throat when my entire team gives him a scathing glare at the same time. He whimpers a little. Shooting him one last withering look, I turn my attention to the scroll.

"Hey dad." I say warmly, walking over to Jaune. He hands the scroll over. The video of my father flickers slightly as wipes a small tear of mirth from his eye.

"Hello Stella." He says. "How are you?" He questions.

"Awake." I say dryly. He chuckles again. "And yourself?"

"Just fine." He says amiably. "Now, I tried asking Ozpin but getting information out of him is like squeezing water from a stone; how was your initiation?" He asks curiously.

"Fantastic." I say excitedly. Jaune gives me a disbelieving look. "My team along with Jaune killed a Deathstalker. We also fought a Nevermore but the credit for that kill goes to team RWBY."

Dad blinks slowly, leaning back in his chair. "A Deathstalker?" He says lowly. "That's a serious threat. Was anyone hurt?" He asks. I shake my head negatively. "Well done. That should be quite the impressive showing for an initiate." He compliments.

"I hope so." I agree with a nod. He leans forward again.

"Now tell me about your team!" He says excitedly. "Who made leader?"

I puff my chest out. "I am the proud leader of team Sniper." I say happily. Dad looks ecstatic.

"Well done!" He congratulates. "It's a shame we lost your leadership potential for the academy. For Ozpin not to have made use of it would have been a crime." He says warmly. I give him a toothy grin.

"Thanks dad." I tell him, genuinely touched at his praise. He claps his hands together after a few seconds of silence.

"Now about your teammates..." He begins, but I gently interrupt him.

"Why don't I introduce you?" I ask him. I can hear the shuffling and whispers behind me, indicating that my team is awake. He nods in agreement. I turn around, looking at my teammates. Pyrrha and Ren are having a soft conversation and Nora is looking around blearily, waking up.

"Hey guys, I want to introduce you to my father." I tell them. All of them look up quickly, gazing at the scroll. "Everyone, this is my father, General James Ironwood, headmaster of the Atlas Millitary Academy."

"Hello." He says politely, looking at each of my teammates through the camera, they all wave in unison, even if Nora's turned into a stretch halfway in. I walk to my team as I turn the scroll on myself.

"Dad, this is my partner," I begin, turning the scroll over. "Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha dips her head in greeting.

"Hello sir, it's nice to meet you." She says with a small smile.

"A pleasure, Ms. Nikos." My father returns. He shifts curiously, studying Pyrrha. "You would be the famed Pyrrha Nikos of Mystral tournaments?" He questions.

"I am." Pyrrha confirms, slightly awkward at the mention of her being famous. Dad looks approving.

"Excellent. I've heard good things about you." He says. "I'm pleased that my daughter has such a promising partner." He praises. Pyrrha gives him a small smile.

"I look forward to working with her." She says, giving me a smile of my own, which I return gratefully.

"Wonderful." Dad says. I turn the scroll over again.

"Now for the other partnership in the finest team at Beacon." I say smarmily. Dad shakes his head with a small, rueful smile. "This is Lie Ren," I begin but before I can continue Nora bounces into the shot, jumping atop Ren.

"And I'm Nora!" She exclaims excitedly. Seems like she's woken up.

"Hello, Nora, Ren." My dad says bemusedly.

"And Nora Valkyrie." I continue with good humour. Ren stirs beneath Nora, pushing her aside gently and sitting up.

"Hello sir." He says, with an undertone of exasperation as he shoots Nora a look.

"You seem as if you know one another quite well." Dad states as Nora cuddles into Ren's side. Nora nods emphatically.

"I've known Renny since forever." She explains. Ren nods.

"My whole life." He says, sounding simultaneously happy, mournful and resigned. Dad looks between the two, picking up on their odd dynamic, obviously finding it not a little amusing.

"With such a strong bond, no doubt you'll be partners for life." Dad says slyly, his manipulative humour shining through. Nora brightens quickly, her good spirits going practically nuclear. Ren looks pleased, but then truly registers the words. Or more correctly, how Nora will react to said words. He shoots my father a betrayed work as Nora starts to seemingly work herself into a frenzy.

"_OH MY GOD RENNY! WE'RE GOING TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER!"_ She yells, once again glomping him and bearing him down onto the bed. Ren's panicked face is promptly blotted out as he mashed firmly between Nora's sizeable breasts. Pyrrha loses her battle with control, falling to her bed, laughing breathlessly. Jaune looks mostly confused, unsure of exactly what happened. I decide to take pity on him, pulling him out of the room. Nora's excitable tirade causes the door to physically vibrate as I close it behind us. Shaking my head, I lead Jaune through the school.

"You've been spending too much time with Qrow." I accuse my father in good humour. He looks genuinely stricken.

"I _know_! The man's a lunatic; completely unmanageable without you." He mourns. Jaune follows me in silence through the halls as I talk to my father.

"You say that like I was managing him in the first place." I tell my father dryly. He chuckle a little, apparently accepting my words. A small silence descends as I contemplate my next question. "So dad," I begin, getting my father to refocus. "I think I know why you called, but I don't want to assume." I tell him.

"It's about the application of Mr. Arc to the academy." Dad says. Jaune looks nervously between myself and the image of my father, surprisingly keeping his silence.

"Mmhmm." I making a rolling motion with my hand, indicating for my father to continue.

"On your recommendation he is to begin officer training in two weeks."

"Great!" I say enthusiastically, giving Jaune an encouraging smile. He smiles back.

"I simply want you to accompany Jaune to Ozpin's office and explain why and p how I've picked up one of his hunter initiates." I frown at this, confused but change direction toward the headmasters tower regardless.

"Doesn't he already know? Jaune didn't show up for team assignments, I assumed he had already discussed it with Ozpin." I state. Jaune clears his throat.

"Actually, I told Goodwitch and she got me in touch with your dad," He begins.

"I still have no idea how he managed to get her to call me, I've been trying for years!" Dad jokes. Jaune laughs back weakly.

'Dad usually doesn't joke like this; wonder why he's in such a good mood?' I wonder as Jaune starts to continue.

"She was pretty surprised but she told me she thought it was a good idea." Jaune says, looking gratefully at Stella.

"Your welcome, I think you'll do well." I tell him.

"I agree." Dad says firmly. "It's been too long since we've had an Arc at the academy." Jaune looks stricken at the fact that his family's reputation would follow him all the way to Atlas. Dad, being rather adept at reading people, picks it up quickly. "Don't worry about your legacy Jaune, you will be judged soley on your own merit."

"Thank you." Jaune says, looking a little more relieved. "It's just… it's hard to have so much to live up to all the time." He says softly. Dad looks at Jaune appraisingly.

"You're much like my father described your grandfather in his youth." Dad muses. My interest peaks. Jaune's grandfather is widely renowned as the best hunter of his time. Jaune looks shocked.

"But my grandfather was one of the most powerful hunters in the world!" Jaune exclaims, shaking his head as if the very thought of his famous forebear being anything less than perfect, of being anything like _him_, was preposterous.

"My father also said he was a coward that couldn't tell the difference between his cock and his sword." My father says dryly. Both Jaune and I choke. Jaune chokes in disbelief at my father's crude language and I choke on my laughter. Despite his cultured, stoic air it's sometimes impossible to miss that my father was once a soldier himself. "He also said that despite his less than impressive beginning Johanne Arc was finest warrior and the best man he'd ever had the honour of knowing." Dad leans back in his seat, regarding Jaune as we approach the door to Ozpin's office. "You don't seem as hopeless as father described Johanne at your age. With hard work I believe you could be the best of us, Mr. Arc." I knock on the studded wooden doors, waiting for a response as Jaune stands silently next to me.

Jaune looks pensive, eyes distant but even I can see the fire of his determination being stoked by my father's encouraging words. "Thank you sir, I'll do my best." Jaune confirms with a solemn nod of his head. Dad looks pleased.

"I know." He says simply as the doors swing open and we approach Ozpin at his desk.

* * *

><p>"You mean to tell me you've given away one of our oldest legacy students?" Ozpin asks with a raised brow, eyes staring at me searchingly. Jaune looks nervous but I bristle indignantly at Ozpin's words.<p>

"I didn't _give _Jaune to anyone." I say icily. "I recommended a course of action to Jaune and he agreed with my assessment." Jaune nods firmly, confirming my words despite his obvious anxiety. Ozpin sighs, leaning back.

"I apologize, I spoke poorly." Ozpin says. I relax in my seat, nodding my head graciously at his sincere apology. "It simply comes as a shock that Mr. Arc will not be attending Beacon. It is the school built by his ancestors, after all."

"And I couldn't be prouder to have been given the opportunity to come here," Jaune begins in a surprisingly even tone of voice, gazing at the headmaster. "But Stella is right, my skills are suited for a… different path. I talked with my father a lot over the last couple of days and he agrees, despite his initial misgivings about me attending a different school." Jaune continues. I blink slowly, a little shocked at the conviction Jaune is showing at the moment. It seems given a way to achieve his goal, to make his family proud, in his own way really set him on the right path.

Ozpin's lip quirks, look at Jaune assessingly. "You might be right" He steeples his hands. "I believe that Atlas Academy might be exactly where you belong, Mr. Arc." Jaune quirks his own small smile at that.

"I think so." Jaune says, leaning forward to shake hands with Ozpin, solidifying the unspoken agreement. They both sit back in their chairs and silence falls for a few seconds before I break it one again.

"I'm not looking forward to explaining this to everyone else, though." I muse out loud and both males look at me, looking curious. "I have to tell Ruby I sent her crush to the other side of the planet." I say with a small grin. Jaune blushes, looking shocked. Ozpin smiles slyly.

"Mr. Arc, I can't have a foreign student breaking the hearts of my most promising pupils already, it's much too early in the year for that." Jaune sputters incoherently and Ozpin's smile widens. "Like father like son, I suppose. Do try to do better than he did and remember to wear protection." Ozpin says deadpan.

Jaune's face pales at that, colour draining impressively fast. Somehow, having seven sisters makes much more sense now.

Minutes later I had to stagger out of the office behind a catatonic looking Jaune, my laughter not having subsided, leaving me flushed and breathless.

Ozpin might be a sadist but he was also _hilarious_.

* * *

><p><em><strong>FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!<strong>_

**With seven kids, did you really expect anything less?**

**Thanks to Animelvr975 for his suggestion of 'Frost Giant' for my OC X Weiss pairing name, I dig it.**


	8. Stella cheats

**Mounty Oum is the undisputed lord and ruler of Remnant, including his subjects such as RWBY. Some credit also goes to his erstwhile council at Roosterteeth.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

'Stella cheats'

* * *

><p><em>In the cafeteria, with teams RWBY and SNPR.<em>

* * *

><p>"Oh that's such a good idea! I haven't really ever had much practice on full size combat grounds, I left Signal before we really started using them." Ruby says excitedly, looking between a chirpy looking Nora and I. Taking a small bite of my lunch roll I give Ruby a wink.<p>

"You're welcome to join us if you want Ruby." I say with a wicked grin. Just as Ruby looks to accept Pyrrha coughs loudly.

"Ruby, you might want to reconsider…" She says evenly. I blow a raspberry at Pyrrha in reply, showcasing my spectacular maturity.

"Uh, why?" Ruby asks with her head tilted to the side. Yang sitting next to her frowns slightly, looking thoughtful.

"Is it because of Stella's weapon? It was mecha-shift, but all I saw was a rifle." Yang asks curiously. Weiss meanwhile has a proverbial light bulb go off in her head apparently, because she practically dives into her bag for her scroll.

"It is a rifle…" I confirm. "Among other things." I say vaguely, doing my best to affect an air of mystery.

"Oh come on! What else is it? A sword, or an axe… Is it a halberd or something?" Yang whines. I smirk silently in reply, rearing up to mess with her a bit but her little sister cuts me short.

"Nah sis, it's just a gun. Or guns, actually." Ruby says to Yang. I send Ruby a sulky pout for flaunting my efforts, which she remains oblivious to.

"Guns?" Yang asks with a raised brow.

"Six guns, fifteen gun classes, to be exact." Weiss says, reading off her scroll. I give her a curious look, along with everyone else, until I realise she's reading some info on the web about me.

"_Fifteen!_ How did you fit that many shifts into your weapon?!" Yang yelps. I shrug, pointing at Weiss who still has her scroll clutched firmly in her hands.

"Stella Ironwood, inventor of the first adaptive projectile armament." Weiss reads dutifully. "Through use of optimised internal mecha-shifting, the A.P.A is able to fire fifteen different classes of small arms. Lauded as a dependable, versatile weapon for long term engagements and missions, the A.P.A is making waves as a go-to supportive armament for military and hunter squads in the field. It's highly practical, intuitive design has seen it supplied as a standardised academy weapon in Atlas and Vale, also pending approval in Vacuo and Haven."

Blake whistles lowly. "They standardised your blueprint? Impressive." I blush lightly at the praise, unable to fully hide my embarrassment at being called out like that. Ren looks at me with a raised eyebrow. Ruby is practically vibrating, stars in her eyes. Pyrrha looks proud and pleased for me. Weiss is still busy skimming the article. Her pancakes mostly occupy Nora.

"Isn't it super rare for a weapon to be standardised?" Yang asks with a furrowed brow. Ruby nods enthusiastically.

"Totally! You know how there are like, thirty pre-made casts for kids who don't like engineering or aren't bothered by a personalised weapon? They only pick the best ones that don't require too much specialised training but are still top of the line hunter weapons." She babbles, gesturing vigorously. "How come you didn't tell me you designed a standardised weapon! That's _awesome!_" She says, turning toward me. I rub my neck sheepishly.

"I uh… it didn't come up?" I say lamely.

"Was the fact that you're the undefeated junior champion marksman in Atlas not going to come up too?" Weiss asks with an arched brow, turning her scroll towards the table. On her scroll is a picture of me lifting a trophy on top of the victor's stage at the Atlas marksman's tournament.

"Probably not, it's isn't exactly a secret." I say truthfully. Ruby is bouncing in her seat, but then stops, her expression going from thoughtful, to horrified, to annoyed.

"You were totally going to trick me into the full combat ground!" She accuses.

"Ah, I simply invited you, it was your choice to say yes or no." I correct with a grin.

"Lies! She tricked me as well!" Nora barks loudly, bashing a fist on the table and pointing at me, all with a smile.

"Yeah… I think you might want to sit this one out sis." Yang says, looking down at Weiss' scroll, reading the article. "I don't think you want to take your chances against tall, dark and scary over here." She says, hiking a thumb at me. I pout and mumble under my breath at her _very_ unfair description, regardless of its veracity

I smile happily. "Pfft, don't listen to her Ruby, it'll be fuuunnnn~" I sing-song to her. Ruby looks indecisive and Blake interjects.

"You do have your sniper, Ruby." Blake says with a mysterious smile. Ruby hums thoughtfully.

"It would make for an interesting engagement…" Weiss says ponderously. I surreptitiously send Weiss a thumbs up.

"If you want, you and Nora can make a team." I offer airily. I have barely offered when Nora explodes out of her seat.

"Team 'Petalsplosion' is a-go!" Nora yells giddily.

"Well I, uh..." Ruby stammers unsurely.

"You don't have to if your _scared_ Ruby." I tease slyly. Ruby pauses, then she puffs her cheeks puff in indignation.

"Oh it is _so_ on." She says, slapping her hands on the table. "You will rue the day you challenged my courage! My victory will be legendary! The bards will sing songs of your defeat for thousands of years! Your family will be humbled for the rest of eternity!" Ruby yells dramatically, shaking her fist in the air.

"Hark, all good cafeteria-goer's!" Nora yells as she jumps on the table, getting into the swing of things. "Come and witness the greatest battle of our age, today at five at training ground seventy three!"

A low murmur of interest bubbles through the gathered students, along with a few laughs. Ren sighs, shaking his head at the thought of the upcoming fight.

"Are you up to this?" Blake asks quietly, looking at the building interest in the crowd.

My answering smile is nothing less than evil.

* * *

><p>"So you guys ready?" I ask Ruby and Nora, both of whom are looking just as excited as I am. We have just arrived at our designated sparring area, a large combat grounds filled with mostly forest with a small clearing and river. Ruby nods at me, slamming a cartridge of ammo into her weapon and cocking it. Nora giggles and hums, but suprisingly doesn't say a word. I see that despite her nature she actually has her own methods to focus.<p>

Go figure.

"Alright, to keep things interesting we'll have you guys start at the opposite ends of the field." Yang declares and Blake nods some confirmation.

"The ammo you have been given are aura-sensitive rounds. If you get shot the dust left behind will leave a colour to indicate potential damage. Blue, green, yellow and red in orders of ascending magnitude. The average hunter has one hundred units of aura according to this scale. Blue indicates zero to twenty four points of damage, green twenty five to forty nine, yellow fifty to seventy four and red seventy five to one hundred. Depending on the area and your aura strength we will see if a shot is none damaging, damaging, crippling or lethal shot." Weiss recites neatly.

"We need to get your aura stats to start, please." Ren asks politely.

"Ninety four." Ruby replies after having her scroll perform a quick scan. Nora and I replicate her action.

"One hundred and seven." I inform the group.

"One hundred and thirty three!" Nora exclaims giddily. I blink a little and turn to her.

"Thats an impressive amount, Nora. You know that's never going to stop getting bigger?" I ask her and she nods happily in reply, ignoring Yang's muttered 'that's what _she_ said'.

"You all seem to have exceptional reserves for your age." Blake muses.

"Uh, but I thought Weiss said the average was one hundred. I only got ninety four..." Ruby says, slightly depressed.

"One hundred is the average for a _hunter_." Blake corrects. "We have a long time before then to strengthen your aura, or increase your control. And even if you had below average reserves, its use all depends on your inclination." Ruby looks at Blake confusedly at her last statement.

"Ehm, inclination?" She asks with her head tilted to the side, looking pretty cute.

"If your naturally inclined to be defensive, for example, using aura shielding will take less aura and be less difficult to do. If you're aggressive you would find things like augumenting attacks with aura easier. If you're evasive you might find supplementing your agility with aura more easily. Aura is the power of the soul, the soul is your essence; it makes sense that it would follow your personal tendencies." Blake lectures, voice mellow. I shake my head after hearing her explanation.

"I can't believe they don't teach this stuff earlier. I've always wondered why I found directed aura shielding so hard." I say.

"Can't you? Aura is a powerful tool, any information on it is pretty heavily restricted. Just imagine if everyone knew how to use it, the balance of power would be completely destroyed and chaos would rule." Pyrrha says emphatically.

"Chaos _is_ bad." I muse and Nora shoots me a betrayed look. "You're the exception, honey." She instantly brightens, returning to her humming. I clap my hands together. "Let's do this."

* * *

><p>"Three..." Yang's voice sounds over my scroll in my pocket as I stand just outside the ring of trees in front of me. "Two... One, go!" I dash inside quickly, activating my semblance instantly. I switch on my heat vision to check my immediate area, not noticing anything nearby. Generally the grounds are kept clear of Grimm, because any that are found by the students who frequent the arena's quickly mop them up for some extra credit but it never hurts to be careful.<p>

Quickly coming to the decision to get to higher ground I whip out my grapple and swing myself up a tree, running up the trunk and jumping off to land at my destination. I take a moment to unsheathe my weapon, give it a quick once over and turn off the safety. I take a deep breath and prop myself up against the tree trunk, hiding in the leaves and shadow with my gun held in a loose grip.

I pull in deep, slow breaths to calm myself and focus.

* * *

><p>"Is she going to take a <em>nap?"<em> Yang asks incredulously, watching Stella on her scroll via one of the many, many cameras in the forest.

"I don't think so..." Ren says slowly, brow slightly furrowed. "That looks almost...meditative."

"Isn't that like, almost the same thing?" Yang says bluntly.

"For you, probably." Blake says dryly. "Meditation can be incredibly soothing."

"This isn't really meant to be an exercise in relaxation, though." Yang points out.

"Meditation is also incredibly useful for aura control, you dunce." Weiss huffs. "I'd never be able to use my glyphs or _any _dust spells for that matter if I didn't meditate."

"_Ah_." Pyrrha exclaims, a note of victory in her voice. "I see what she is doing."

"Oh?" Weiss exclaims, with a little a curiosity.

"I believe she is locating Nora and Ruby." Pyrrha says and Ren hums in agreement, turning his attention back to the scroll.

"Locating them?" Yang asks with a raised eyebrow. Pyrrha shrugs noncommittally, gesturing toward the scrolls just as Stella starts to stir. "I don't think it's possible in this terrain to" She starts but is interrupted when Stella sits up fluidly, one knee down and the other helping steady her sniper. In the same motion she barely takes any time to let loose two quick shots, a small break and an adjustment and the gun barks out another two reports. "shoot...that...far." Yang trails off lamely, a tinge of awe in her voice as she looks at the video feed of a stunned looking Ruby and Nora. Both have two large red splotches on their person, Nora has two centred on her chest and Ruby has one on her forehead and throat.

"That is _terrifying_." Ren says lowly.

"What do you mean? Are you not happy that you have someone with her skills as a team-leader?" Weiss questions.

"Of course I am." Ren agrees evenly. "But take a moment to think if she were using live ammunition."

Blake grimaces. "They wouldn't have even had time to take cover; they'd both be dead in an instant."

Yang pales slightly. "Man, I can see why no one wants to tangle with her in a shoot out. You can't hide."

"And she doesn't miss often, either." Pyrrha agrees.

"_Terrifying_." Ren echoes.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so that didn't go exactly as planned..." Ruby trails off, looking slightly uneasy before she rallies herself. "But now it's round two! If we stick to the plan I know we can beat her."<p>

"I believe!" Nora exclaims, aping the tones of a preacher.

"Alright, Blake said we'd be closer this time so I'll go low and you stick to the trees. That way we can rush her either way." Ruby says.

"Alright, let's go! Team Petalsplosion for the win!" Nora cheers, blasting off into the tree line, using her hammer to boost her jump.

"Wait up!" Ruby exclaims as she hastily scrabbles after her excitable partner.

* * *

><p>I barely have to use my semblance at all in this match, because just as it starts I hear the sound of Magnhild firing and Ruby's yelling. Nora also seems to be giggling rather than using the stealthy approach.<p>

Before I know it Nora bursts out of a tree near me and my own silver orbs meet her shining turqouise eyes.

"I found you!" Nora yells, taking her hammer and blasting herself at my position. "_HAAAA SM-" _She comes careening toward me, hammer hefted for a hefty blow.

I lift my gun and pepper her airborne form with a full auto spray of light machine-gun ammo. Her momentum is arrested heavily and she crashes into the trunk below me, covered in a multitude of yellow, blues and greens.

"I will avenge you!" Ruby exclaims dramatically, swinging up behind me onto the branch starting her dash toward me. "From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!" She barks, her deadly looking scythe gleaming in the afternoon light.

She falls to the forest floor in a huge crash after I blast a barrel full of aura-sensitive heavy-shotgun ammo on her torso. I peer down, looking at my two defeated classmates.

"Owwwiiieee, I think I broke my butt." Ruby moans, sitting up and dusting herself off from her impromptu meeting with the forest floor.

* * *

><p>Weiss facepalms so hard it is audible. "Our illustrious team leader, everyone."<p>

"Don't take it so hard, Nora isn't doing much better." Ren shrugs.

"Yes but she isn't your _leader_." Weiss growls.

"Leadership isn't based on combat strength alone, Weiss." Pyrrha chides lightly. "We all came to Beacon, our skills are not so far apart."

"That coming from Pumpkin Pyrrha, winner of the Mystral tournaments?" Yang exclaims with a raised brow.

Pyrrha blushes lightly but continues onward. "What I mean to say is that everyone here has already proven themselves a very capable warrior by even being allowed to _attempt_ initiation. Don't judge Ruby's skill as a leader solely on her performance in the arena."

"Especially when the arena favours Stella's MO so heavily." Blake agrees. "Ruby said that she didn't have any experience using full combat grounds and you can see it in that she isn't taking advantage of her sniper. Nora just doesn't seem the type to engage from a distance."

Weiss huffs and rolls her eyes. "Fine, I understand. Still, this is rather embarrassing..."

"I think this is _exactly_ how Stella likes to fight. She's mentioned her close combat isn't nearly as good as her shooting; I don't think she is going to do as well in our combat classes." Ren says, watching as both Ruby and Nora groans, rubbing their butt and forehead respectively. "But yes, it is pretty embarrassing."

* * *

><p>"Ok, that didn't work either." Ruby says, rubbing her bruised butt absentmindedly. "Any ideas Nora?"<p>

Nora nods energetically, leaning in and whispering in Ruby's ear. Soon both are giggling and nodding, having come to an agreement.

"I am ready!" Ruby yells.

"Ruby! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty… For tonight, we dine in hell!" Nora bellows, lifting Magnhild one handed in her war cry.

"Hoorah!" Ruby and Nora both yell, jumping up out of their small hiding hole. They both stand tall as a small object collides at their feet. They look down curiously, not registering what the mysterious small cylinder is.

...

...

_BOOM_.

* * *

><p>"Wow, she took them both out with one grenade." Yang says, noting down <em>another<em> perfect victory for Stella. "And they didn't even _try_ to move out of the way."

"I warned them both." Pyrrha says, shaking her head.

"Yes but even I didn't think it would be _this_ bad." Weiss says.

"She can see things _through the trees_." Pyrrha explains slowly, gesturing to the massively dense woodland around them, with barely ten metres of visibility in any direction.

"And they can't even spot her; for someone so big she seems pretty damn sneaky." Yang muses.

"Look! They have her pinned down!" Ren exclaims and instantly all attention is fixed on the video feed once more.

* * *

><p>Ruby and Nora are both thrumming with excitement, returning pot shots around trees and stones, harrying Stella who is ducked behind a large tree. Nora rolls out of cover, sending a grenade down field, forcing Stella to hide but not before a shot hits Nora in the thigh, leaving a bright yellow mark. Nora's eyes widen and she is about to run before Ruby rolls out and joins her, providing her own covering fire.<p>

"Hold your ground, hold your ground! Daughter of Vacuo, my sister! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when our courage fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you **_stand, hunter of_**_** Remnant!**_" Ruby roars, scythe twirling as she stands. Nora stands not long after her, joining her roar and holding Magnhild aloft as they chase their prey.

Within seconds they reach the tree where Stella was hiding, darting behind it on either side to pincer her and finish the match... but she isn't there.

And then they realise they are standing in a clearing, a brook babbling happily nearby, not a single piece of cover in sight.

And on the other side of the clearing sits Stella, her gun propped up on a log in heavy machine-gun form. Stella gives them a jaunty wave.

"Ah _nuts_." Ruby breathes.

* * *

><p>"How was your first taste of a full ground combat?" Yang asks brightly. Ruby grumbles something inaudible and sends her sister a burningly caustic look by her standards; meaning slightly disgruntled by everyone else's.<p>

"Well _I _had fun." I chirp lightly, hefting Nora who is riding piggy back on me as recompense. Ruby's grumbling becomes even less discernible and her demeanour surly.

"It was certainly informative." Weiss states plainly as she sidles up to my right side. "It's not often you see someone who favours ranged combat so heavily." I give her an appraising look, snapping on my aura vision to look at her aura body again.

"Your aura shows that you tend to use a lot of magic." I tell her. She looks at me curiously.

"You can see my aura?" Weiss wonders.

I nod. "Yup. Your is like splinters of glass, or ice. It's white and some light blue. Really well contained, with a a very even flow."

Weiss smirks slightly at the description and I can't blame her, I might have been stating the truth but it was still decent praise, her aura control is impressive.

"Thank you... Now what does this have to do with my magic, exactly?" She queries. Above me Nora is chatting avidly down toward Ren, who is on my left and simply nodding and giving a few affirmative sounds at Nora's impressive retelling of todays events.

"Well most dust mages tend to be pretty comfortable at range." I tell her.

"Ah, yes, this is true but I personally prefer to augment my close combat abilities with my spells and glyphs." Weiss explains.

"I was thinking of taking up dust magic myself for a similar reason." I say with a smile. Weiss smiles lightly in return.

"Oh?" She makes a questioning sound, looking pleased.

"Mmhmm." I confirm. "I'm not the best at CQC, my weapon isn't really suited for it either, so if I can't find something that works for me in that regard I figured magic could help a lot in lieu of any other options."

Weiss shrugs. "It's certainly possible. I know Professor Goodwitch only uses the crop as a focus and not as a melee weapon; she fights purely with dust magic."

"I didn't know that." I say ponderously. "I'll be sure to ask her. Thank you, Weiss." I say politely.

"You're welcome, Stella." She returns with equanimity. Our small moment of bonding is broken when Nora slumps tiredly against me and I notice Ren has slipped away and joined the main group walking back to Beacon keep.

"You alright there, Nora." I ask, glancing at her drooping eyes.

"Just," She yawns expansively. "_sleepy_." She mutters.

"Alright, I think I need to put the kid to bed." I say to Weiss, who looks slightly amused. "Tell the others I'll see them in a few."

"Of course. Goodnight, Nora." Weiss says.

"G'night, Weiss." Nora mumbles into the crook of my neck. I chuckle and walk away, heading from the main buildings to the dorms to lay my weary teammate to rest, marking the end of another day for her.

After today, she'd certainly earned it.

* * *

><p><strong><em>FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!<em>**

**Next time we discover Nora's semblance and why she doesn't use it! Also, sex jokes! **

**It's a high class act around here, people.**


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